Inner Fire
by Nythtak
Summary: Kate is just a normal girl, untill she is visited from Yue and plunges into the Avatar World. There she meets Aang and the gang, then is kidnapped by her favourite character; Prince Zuko. A boy who fears his past, a girl who knows all about it Zukoxoc oc
1. Chapter 1

Preview

Kate is just an ordinary girl with an ordinary life. A.K.A boring. The one thing she loves most is Avatar, the last Airbender. Especially Zuko. One night she gets a visit from Yue, inviting her to go to the Avatarverse and meet the characters. Of course, she agrees right away. When she is plunged into the strange yet amazing world of Avatar, what will be the outcome? Will she wish she was home or will a romance bloom?


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi so this is my first fanfict, hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't see the point in this, since it is obvious, but every out fanfict has to do this, so whatever. I don't owner A:TLA. I guess i own Kate, since she is basically me in a way. :D  
**

Chapter 1-Hope

Kate walked out the school gates after the longest and most boring day she could remember. That's why she hated her life, nothing ever happened. Why couldn't she live in the Avatar world, be transported there like girls did in so many fanficts she had read? As unlikely as it seemed, she still had a little hope something like that would happen. Even if there was a slight possibility, it was worth it, as she would find out later.

* * *

When Kate got home she threw her bag downstairs and made her way upstairs, followed by a shout from her mother asking her what she was doing.

"I'm going upstairs!" she yelled back down with a sigh at the obviousness.

"Well I know that!" her mother replied, slightly annoyed. Her mother was quick to loose her temper, thats probably where Kate got her own short fuse from, "I mean why are you always in your room? Get sown here and do something usefull, like feed the cat, or clean out the rabit hut, or-"

"But mum, I feel sick," she whined, which was kinda true, as soon as her mother mentioned the dirty, faecie filled hut, a wave of nausea washed over her.

"Fine! But if your so ill, then i guess you won't want any dinner, today or tomorow then, hm?"

She knew there was no point arguing, so Kate waked the rest of the way upstairs and into her room. Her mum just didn't inderstant her, all Kate wanted was to get to her room turn on her computer and loose herself in the Avatar world. Over the years she'd managed to make enough money to buy an ancient computer from one of her friends. She mostly used it to watch A:TLA episodes, even though she must have seen the entire series several times, not to mention read it all on Fanfiction stories. They were a release from her normal boring life and, not to mention how hot Zuko was. He was her favourite charater of all time, being the most interesting aswell as the cutist, his only downfall was Mai.

* * *

That night when she fell asleep, she couldn't help but feel dissapointed. Another day wasted with her pathetic excuse for a life. _Why couldn't anything interesting happen? _she thought to herself. _Oh well, could be worse. I guess._

Later on when Kate was fast asleep, at exactly midnight, a glowing filled the room. The glow was beautiful, like an amplified version of the moon, slowly getting brighter. When the rays hit her face, Kate woke with a start. "Muuumm." she groaned. "It can't be 7 already."

"Indeed it is not."

"What!" she yelled, not knowing who the soft voice belonged to. It was definetly not her mother, but the voice seemed oddly familiar. She stepped out of bed and looked around her small room, trying to find the source of the voice. Her room consisted of a small bed in one corner, underneath the window, and a desk arcross from it. On top was her computer and printer, although she rarely used it except for homework. She kept looking untill she spotted someone she definetly did not expect to see.

"Princess Yue?"

"Yes it is me. I am pleased you know who I am, it will make this alot easier." Yue replied. She looked exactly as she did in the episode when she became the moon spirit, her white hair flowing around her, blue eyes icy in colour but still containing warmth. Kate couldn't believe her eyes. It really was Yue, but why was she here?

Remembering that she was talking to a princess, even if she was a cartoon, Kate gave a short bow with hands pressed together as though in prayer, that she had learned from watching the series.

Yue laughed softly. "Why, there is no need for such formalities, I am here to offer you something life changing, that is, if you accept."

"Really, what is it?" Kate asked excitedly. She couldn' t believe this was really happening.

Yue smiled at her enthusiasm, "I would like to ask you if you would like to go to the Avatar world."


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi yay! Chapter 3! All in one day! whoo me lol. please R&R**

**Disclaimer: Do not own A:TLA  
**

Decision

Kate POV

I stood speechless for a second, my mind processing what Yue was saying, before making my decision. Could I really leave my life here, my mum, my sister. True, I didn't see my dad anymore, and my sister was almost as evil as Azula, trying constantly to make my life a living hell. My mother didn't really care about me, and I only hung around with my 'friends' at school where they didn't really notice me. So, in truth, I had nothing to loose and everything to gain.

"Of course I'll come!" I shouted happily, "Thankyou so much Yue!" I ran forward automatically to hug her, then after realized she was a princess to backed away nervously. " Oh, sorry princess." I mumbled.

When I looked up at her she looked slightly shocked but had a smile on her face. "You are very welcome, Kate. Now," she brought out a large tan bag that looked completely full and set it down on the bed. "In this bag is all you should need on your travels, inside are some clothes from each nation and a sack of money. It should be enough to keep you and the others going for a while."

Then Yue brought out a pair of broadswords ((Imagine Zuko's swords, but more elegant and girly i guess)) and handed them to me.

"I know you don't know how to use these, but they will come in handy to defend yourself. But, let me warn you, you may be a little different over there."

"What do you mean?" I asked. I'm pretty much average; average height, average weight, waist length brown hair and dull brown eyes. I wasn't beautiful but I wasn't ugly. So the best way to describe me would be plain.

"You'll see when you get there." she said slyly. I rolled my eyes slightly but chose to ignore the comment. "So, are you ready?"

"Ready as i'll ever be." I replied, not sure how to be ready.

"Okay, take my hand and close your eyes." I took her hand, looked once more at my room, and closed my eyes. Behind my lids everything seemed to get brighter, and Yue whispered in my ear, "When the time is right, will you deliver this message to Sokka?" she told me the message and I nodded. The next thing I knew, I was extemely tired and behan to drift off to sleep.

**Okay please review and i will right more soon :D**


	4. Chapter 4

**New chapter Yay! This is all from Sokka's POV so sorry if he is a bit OOC, first time writing as him. enjoy and please R&R!**

Waking up

Sokka POV

We'd just left the Southern Air Temple, and already we were lost. And Katara thought _I _was bad at navigating.

"You have no idea where we're going, do you?" I asked Aang. May as well get straight to the point.

Aang turned to look at me and said, "Weelll, I know it's near water ..."

I glanced over the edge of the saddle, noticing we were surrounded by an endless stretch of water. I groaned and muttered flatly "I guess we're getting close then."

Katara's busy mending my pants where a massive hole somehow appeared. Seriously, how did it get there? They were fine yesterday. I bet Momo tried to eat them, he tries to eat everything! _I'm _the one who eats everything, not Momo. Stupid Momo.

I turned my attention pack to Katara and Aang. Aang was trying to impress Katara with a trick with some marbles, but she was too busy sewing to pay attention. I decided to save him from the upcoming wrath of a certain annoyed waterbender.

"Stop bugging her airhead. You need to give girls space when they do their sewing." Sokka to the rescue, or so I thought.

Katara stopped sewing to look at me, "What does me being a girl have to do with sewing?" her expression was a mixture of annoyance and anger which I gulped slightly at. But I was not ready to back down so I replied, "Simple: girls are better at fixing pants than guys, and guys are better at hunting and fighting and stuff like that. It's just the natural order of things." I folded my arms, glad that I had won the argument for once.

"All done with your pants, and look what a great job I did!" Katara threw the half-sewn pants at me, and it hit me on the head."

"Wait I was just kidding!" I tried apologising, I stuck my hand through the hole in the seat of the pants, " Katara, PLEASE!"

I stopped begging when I saw Katara looking straight above Appa, "KATA-what? What are you guys looking at?" I looked at and gasped when I saw what they were looking at; It seemed to be a person, a girl I guessed due to the fact she was wearing a Kimono, dropping through the air towards us. She was moving quite slowly, but Aang slowed down Appa so she would land on the saddle. Aang jumped up using airbending to catch her, and laid her down on the saddle. She was wearing a deep blue Kimono ((imagine Katara's but deep blue)) and had hair so dark black it had a blue-ish tint. My eyes widened when I took in her form, noticing how beautiful she was, which brought a slight blush to my cheeks. I shook myself mentally and tried to concentrate on what the other two where saying.

"What should we do?" Aang asked Katara.

"I think we should land, then I can check her over for any injuries, and she can have a chance to wake up."

"Sure, but where?"

"There's an Island over there, but it could take a while to get there." I finally input. I could just see it in the distance. It was covered in trees but looked safe enough."

"YES!" Aang suddenly yelled.

"What? Whats so good about some random Island?" I asked, forgetting for a second about the strange girl.

"Thats where I can ride the Elephant Koi!" Aang answered, literally jumping in his seat.

"You know we can't stay for long." I said.

"Oh please!"

"No!"

"Please!

"NO!"

"PLEASE!"

"N-"

"YOU GUYS SHUTUP!" Katara interrupted. "The girls starting to wake up!"

We both looked over at the girl and watched as she began to shuffle and groan. She opened her eyes. They were a beautiful sapphire blue, she blinked a few times before trying to sit up. I rushed over to her and supported her back, whilst Katar checked her over for any signs of injury. When I held her up she turned to look at me. I saw her eyes widen in surprise, and she spoke for the first time.

"Sokka?"


	5. Chapter 5

Kyoshi Island

Kate POV

I rubbed my eyes, not believing what I saw. Right infront of me was Sokka. _Sokka! What the hell! _I tried to jump up but he held me down. "I don't think you should be getting up just yet." He smiled as he said this. I stared at him, making sure it really was him. It was. His sea blue eyes, 'Wolftail hairdo, tanned skin and, his trademark, boomerang strapped to his back. _He's real!_

"So, how are you feeling?"

I jumped slightly when I heard Katara talking. As I did with Sokka, I checked it was really her. _Hair loopies; check, Kimono; check, Mothers necklace; check._ Yep, it was definitely her. She was kneeling next to me, obviously checking me over for injuries. "I feel fine." _Just a bit confused. More like ALOT confused! _I thought but didn't add.

"Hi! I'm-"

"Aang, I know." I finished for him. I noticed Sokka and Katara looking at me strangely, but I chose to ignore it.

"Oh. Well hi anyway!" I smiled at him. "So what were you doing?"

"What d'you mean?"

"You know, falling from the sky.."

I stared at him confused before remembering what Yue said and what had happened. I looked around, realizing we were on Appa over the ocean. I let out a small shriek as Momo landed suddenly on my lap, before laughing as Sokka batted him away. Aang was still looking at me expectantly, so I decided it was best to tell the truth.

"Okay, um, you might not believe this though ..."

"Not believe it? Please, Aang here was stuck in an Iceberg for 100 years, we'll believe anything." Sokka reassured whilst trying to make a joke out of it. _Typical Sokka. He does seem nicer though, usually he would be screaming that I was some Fire Nation spy. _

"Okay, well, you see I'm from another world and was transported her by Prin-" I stopped remembering they probably didn't know who Yue was, "um by a spirit to your world. And, um, thats it." I grinned sheepishly, watching for their reaction. Katara and Sokka looked shocked, both speechless, but Aang was the first to recover.

"Oh, cool! Well I'm the-"

"Avatar." I interrupted again. Aang looked confused, "How do you know that?" he asked. I decided to have a bit of fun whilst I could. "With maaaaagic! Oooohh!" I said whilst wiggling my fingers in the air.

"Oh no, not _more _magic!" Sokka groaned quietly. I laughed and Aang chuckled too. "No, seriously, how do you know?" Aang asked again.

"Oh, I don't want to go over it now, it's pretty complicated."

"Okaaay." Aang wined like the child he is.

"So, you never told us your name, since you probably know mine too." Katara said.

"Oh, I'm-" I paused, wandering whether to give my old name, or make up one for myself. Kate would probably stand out too much, but what would fit me? Then I remembered a fanfict I had once read. "I'm Kaida, and it's great to meet you guys!" I said beaming at them. They grinned back, especially Sokka. I decided to try and get up so I could get a better look around. Sokka helped me up as my legs were still a bit wobbly.

"Careful, you don't want to fall off!" Aang said, still smiling.

"Hey, you can sit over with me, if you like." Sokka said. He looked so nervous I almost laughed, but didn't want to embarrass him further. "Thanks." I said.

"So," Aang began. "Do you wanna come with us!"

"Sure! Sounds great," I said, excited again, then I looked over at the other two, "If thats cool with you guys?"

"Definitely!" Sokka stood up, then sat down again beside me with a slight blush.

"Sounds good, it'll be nice to finally have a girl in the group." Katara said with another smile.

I looked around again, trying to figure out which episode it was, and saw a pair of pants, which were obviously Sokka's, on the floor of the saddle. Figuring it was the Kioshi warriors episode, I looked around, trying to spot the Island. I saw what looked to be the only Island in the area, and guessed it was Kioshi.

"So, Kaida," Katara began, "Are you a bender?"

"I don't know." I said, "But I can't wait to find out!"

Sokka groaned again, obviously not looking forward to more 'Magic', and flopped over, looking down at the ocean. I turned my attention towards Aang. "So, what next?" I asked, eventhough I kew what he was about to say.

"We're going to the Island over there!" he pointed to Kioshi. "I'm gonna ride the Elephant Koi!"

"Sounds cool." I said, keeping back the fact that he would almost get eaten very soon. "When will we get there?"

"In about 10 minutes." Katara answered this time. She was staring at something on the saddle, looking a little confused and wary. I followed her gaze and saw my bag.

"My ipod!" I yelled, grabbing it from the bag. Inside was also a solor-powered charger (( I know they don't exist but who cares lol)). I put the earphones in and began to tap my foot to the music. It was 'The Show' by Lenka, one of my favourite songs. I was interrupted when Sokka nudged me, looking at me with an amuse expression. "Watcha doing?" he asked.

"Listening to music."

"Well, I can't hear anything."

"Come'ere." I said, grabbing his arm and dragging him closer, ignoring his blush. I pulled one earphone out and put it in his ear. I laughed as his eyes widened in surprise and he exclaimed, " I can hear music!"

"Duh, that is the point."

"Why is the music really weird? And why can't I see the band? And why-"

I cut him off, "Just think of it as your own personal band." I smiled as his grin widened. I then blushed slightly, realizing how close we were. He blushed too, realizing as I did. Thankfully Aang interrupted us, "C'mon guys, we're here!"

I jumped off Appa, slightly surprised at my own agility, before I came here I would be off balance on the floor. I turned at a sudden bump, seeing Sokka who had obviously tried to copy me and fell instead. I laughed and offered him my hand, which he took gratefully.

"Katara, you gotta watch me!" I turned and saw Aang running into the water, then laughed when he jumped out shouting "COLD!"

I walked to the edge, forgetting what was about to happen, and cheered him on with Katara when he came up holding on the fish's fin. "He looks pretty good out there." Katara commented.

"Are you kidding? The fish is doing all the work." Sokka said.

"Still you'd have to be pretty brave to do that sort of thing." I said.

"I'm brave too." Sokka grumbled sadly. Before I could say anything in reply, I saw a shadow appear under the water. _The Unagi!_

Sokka noticed too. "There's something in the water!" he yelled.

"Aang get outta there!" I joined in.

"AANG!" Katara yelled.

"We need to help him," I said, trying to make a plan. Before I could say anything else, the Unagi grabbed Aangs fish and threw Aang into the water, knocking him out. "I'm coming Aang!" Sokka shouted, and before I could say anything took off into the water._ What on earth is he doing! He's gonna get himself killed! Now would be the time to find out if I'm a water bender. _I focused all my energy on creating a wave large enough to bring them back to shore, copying sweeping movements I had seen Katara use. Surprisingly it worked, and they were back before anything else could happen. I ran over to them and grabbed Sokka, seeing as Katara was already holding Aang, and hugged him tightly. "What the hell were you thinking! I thought you were going to die! Why did you do that? It's stupid, no matter how brave it was!"

Sokka grinned up at me, "I didn't know you cared so much."

"Ugh!" I stalked off towards where Aang and Katara were standing. "C'mon lets go."

Sokka POV

_Wow. I didn't know she cared so much! Soo worth almost getting eaten. _I grinned and remembered what she said '_It's stupid, no matter how brave-' _She called me brave! _Me _brave! Again, so worth it.

"Time to hit the road." I said, still grinning. Next thing I knew, we were surrounded by some people in green. One grabbed me from behind and blindfolded me, throwing me to the ground. I heard the others get attacked behind me and pushed to the floor. There was what sounded like a bit of a struggle before an "Oof." That I recognised as Kaida landing beside me. _They better not have hurt her! _I thought before snapping out of it, knowing there was nothing I could do. "Or we could stay a while.." I said.

"Shut up Sokka." I heard a muffled Kaida say.

Kaida POV

I was so irritated at Sokka for worrying me so much that I forgot about the Kioshi Warriors until they were right behind me. One grabbed my arm and I flipped backwards behind her, kicking my leg out so she fell to the floor. _How the hell did I do THAT! _I thought, but didn't have much chance before another, who I recognised as Suki, kicked out at me. Remembering we had to get to the village, I put my hands up and let them take me, landing beside Sokka.

"Or maybe we could stay a while.." I heard him say.

"Shut up." I said as loudly as I could through the gag.


	6. Chapter 6

**Yay! Another chapter! I am good to you my readers. Sorry for any spelling mistakes and I hope you like the story! **

**By the way **_**this means persons thoughts.**_** Eg. **_**Yeah right,**_** I thought**

**Disclaimer: me no own A:TLA. Am watching it now lol. Zuko just joined and is yelling at Aang lol :D**

Training

Kaida POV

We were bound to a pole, which I remembered was the statue of Avatar Kioshi, and I was stuck between Katara and Sokka. We were still blindfolded, which was starting to get extremely annoying, when I heard Oyagi, obviously the leader, and Suki come over and begin talking.

"You three have some explaining to do." Oyagi said.

"And if you don't answer all our questions, we're throwing you back in the water with the unagi." Suki threatened. _Yeah like that's much of a threat. We just escaped it!_

"Show yourselves, cowards!" Sokka yelled angrily. _Stupid Sokka._

My blindfold was snatched from my face and I blinked a few times to adjust to the sudden light. In front of me were five Kioshi warriors dressed in green, with white painted faces with red around their eyes. They were carrying fans on their waistbands and all held a defensive posture. _Yeah, like we're going anywhere._

"Who are you?" Sokka was straining at his bonds beside me. "Where are the men who ambushed us?" I resisted the urge to stamp on his foot, smirking when I realized what was coming next.

"There were no men." Suki shook her fist at Sokka, "_We _ambushed you. Now tell us, who are you and what are you doing here?"

Sokka laughed in disbelief "Wait a second, theres no way a bunch of girls took us down." This time I couldn't resist. I stood on his foot as hard as I could and smiled sweetly when he yelled "OUCH!" and glared at me. I saw Suki look at me with a slightly surprised but amused expression before looking back at Sokka.

Suki grabbed him by the collar and shook him, which made me smirk again, "A bunch of girls, huh? The unagi's gonna eat well tonight."

Katara panicked, "No, don't hurt him!" she said quickly. "He didn't mean it! My brother is just an idiot sometimes."

"Sometimes! More like all the time!" I added.

"Hey!"

"It's my fault, I'm sorry we came here. I wanted to ride the Elephant Koi." Aang apologised.

_Just like Aang, taking all the blame,_ I thought.

"How do we know you're not fire nation spies? Kyoshi stayed out the war so far. And we intend to keep it that way!" Oyagi pointed an accusing finger at Aang.

"This island is named for Kyoshi? I know Kyoshi!"

I zoned out slightly, knowing what was going to happen so I so I didn't bother listening. Instead I scanned the area for the crazy foaming guy, he was one of my favourite parts of this scene. Sadly he wasn't foaming yet, but I knew he would be here soon.

I looked up when I heard some air whoosh near me. The rope fell to the ground and I scanned the crowd again, grinning when I spotted Mr. Foaming guy. He screamed like a girl and started foaming at the mouth, he then fainted. The villagers were all cheering at Aang's little marble trick, and Oyagi lead us to a relatively large hut by a stream. "I hope you will find these rooms to your liking. Breakfast will be brought to you in the morning." Oyagi said. He bowed and walked out of the hut. Sokka immediately collapsed into a chair as Katara walked over to me.

"So, you're a water bender?" she asked. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.

"Yep, I guess so."

"Thats great!" she suddenly shouted, excited. " We can both learn together with Aang at the North Pole."

"Sounds cool." I said, even though I knew master Pakku wouldn't teach us. "But for now, would you mind teaching me some moves?" I probably knew more moves in theory than Katara from watching Avatar, but it would be good to get some proper practice.

"Of course! C'mon, there's a stream over there!"

We walked out of the hut, ignoring Sokka and Aang, who were just sitting there relaxing. _Boys are sooo lazy._

"Alright, this move is called push and pull, it's pretty basic just-" She stopped when she noticed me already doing the move, my wave a lot taller than hers. "Wow, that took me 4 months to perfect." She mumbled.

Remembering what happened with Aang when he began learning from Katara, although this won't happen for a while, I reassured her, stealing Aang's line, "I'm sure it's just because I have such a good teacher."

"Thanks," she said, smiling again, "Now, try and copy this." She streamed the water through the air. I copied her, surprising myself at how easy it was. The light sparkled off it, _waters so beautiful, _I realised. I thought of a move I saw Katara do later in the series, moving my hands so that the water flowed with it into a ball. I then froze it, concentrating on the particles, I made it rise into the, until it was level with my eyes, then tried another move I had seen, slicing the ice with my arm movements, sending the slices into a tree. Each slice was a centimetre apart, and smiling at my success though a little tired from concentrating so hard, I turned back to Katara.

I was taken aback by the look on her face. It was pure jealousy.

"How did you do that?" she demanded, "I thought you'd never been taught anything!"

"Um, I..I don't know... I just did." I said dumbly.

"Well you keep just 'doing that' then! I'm sure you'll be a master waterbender in no time!"

I wanted to say something, like tell her what a great water bender she would be soon, but she stalked off towards the hut. I was really hMy mouth still open, I decided it was best I stayed away a while, giving Katara a chance to cool off. I went back to practising, rising a wall of water like Aang did in 'The water bending scroll', then let it drop, pushing the waves to the side creating a path on the floor of the stream, leaving fish flapping on the floor. I let the water fall back, then decided to try and use the moves as an offence. Pulling the water into a stream, I practiced a water whip, making a mark on a tree and trying to hit it over and over again, improving my aim. Then I did the same thing, but with ice daggers. Eventually I could hit the mark directly.

I smiled but was exhausted, so I headed back to the hut. The sun had already gone down and it was a new moon, so I couldn't draw any strength from it like Katara and the other water benders did when the moon was at least a little full. Everyone seemed to be asleep, so I snuck quietly into the room Katara and I shared, hoping she was asleep so I wouldn't have to be shouted at again.

I slid the door closed behind me and silently stepped towards my mat. I saw Katara on her mat, her breathing was deep and even so I assumed she was asleep. Then, on my next step, the floor creaked and I grimaced.

"Kaida, is that you?"

I sighed and gave in, walking over to sit on my bed as Katara turned to face me. "Yeah, it's me."

"Look, I'm sorry." She was looking at the floor, obviously sad and a bit nervous. "I didn't mean to be so angry at you; I was just so jealous that you were so good at the moves. I hope you can forgive me. I understand if you-"

I cut her off in a surprise hug, "Of course I forgive you! Us girls gotta stick together." She finally looked me in the eye and smiled. We hugged again and she said, "Thanks Kaida."

"No probs." I grinned then yawned widely. "I guess I better get to sleep. Goodnight Katara." I said as I rolled under the cover.

"Goodnight Kaida."

I drifted off to sleep, smiling.

X 

I walked out of my room, yawning again, to see a long, wooden table filled with an assortment of pastries and cakes. Katara and Aang were sat at the table, and Sokka was in the corner, sulking by the look of it.

"All right! Dessert for breakfast!" Aang yelled before stuffing his face full of pastries. I giggle at the sight, causing Sokka to look up with a slight smile that disappeared after a few seconds. Confused, I sat next to him, asking him what was wrong.

"He's just upset that a bunch of girls kicked his but yesterday." Katara interrupted.

"They snuck up on me!"

"Right. And _then_ they kicked your butt." Said Katara smugly. I knew she was right, but felt a bit bad about how much embarrassment Sokka was about to go through very soon.

Sokka got up angrily, "Sneak attacks don't count!" He began pacing the room, throwing his arms around, "Tie me up with ropes! I'll show them a thing or too! I'm not scared of any girls."

"BOO!" I shouted as loud as I could. I laughed when he jumped about a foot in the air, then glaring at me, grabbed some sweets off it before stalking off.

"Guess I should follow him." I muttered before following. I couldn't wait to see him get beat up, and I wanted to see if the Kioshi warriors would train me for a bit, since I did almost beat them in the forest. _Mmm ... This should be interesting, _I thought, looking forward to putting my newfound agility to use.

"Hey! Wait up!" I called to Sokka. He slowed down a bit, indicating that I could join him. "Look I'm sorry Sokka." I said, looking up at his face. He still looked a bit annoyed so I continued, "I just got a bit caught up in the moment, you have to admit though, it was funny."

He finally looked at me, and I let out a relived sigh when I saw he was smiling. "It's okay, but I _will _get you back." He said, trying to scare me. I just laughed and, noticing we had stopped, grabbed his hand to drag him toward the dojo. Inside I could see Suki and the other warriors doing a training drill with their fans.

"Sorry to ladies! Didn't mean to interrupt your dance lesson." Sokka said arrogantly. I restrained myself, yet again, from hitting him, remembering soon he would be getting his ass whooped by a 'bunch of girls'. Sokka continued to talk, stretching his arms and waist, "I was just looking for somewhere to get a little work out?" _Ugh, Sokka is so stupid._

"Well you're in the right place" Suki said. "Sorry about yesterday. I didn't know that you were friends with the Avatar."

"It's all right. I mean, normally I'd hold a grudge, but seeing as you guys are a bunch of girls, I'll make an exception."

"I should hope so. A big strong man like you? We wouldn't stand a chance." Suki said sarcastically of course.

"True. But don't feel bad. After all, I'm the best warrior in my village."

I rolled my eyes, catching Suki's and smiling at her. I was still a bit annoyed at how sexist Sokka was, so I stood behind him and pulled a face at the back of his head, posing behind him showing off my imaginary muscles like Sokka did just before they found Aang in the iceberg. The other warriors laughed like it was the funniest thing they had ever seen, which it probably was knowing how strict the Kioshi warriors were, causing Sokka to stand back up straight, looking around, "What's so funny?"

When he looked at me, I just smiled innocently, before returning my attention back to Suki and the others. Suki looked back at Sokka.

"Wow! Best warrior, huh? In your whole village? Maybe you'd be kind enough to give us a little demonstration." She said with fake enthusiasm.

"Oh... well... I mean... I..." Sokka was obviously regretting his words. I smirked at the upcoming embarrassment.

Suki turned back to the other warriors, "Come on, girls! Wouldn't you like him to show us some moves?"

The group of warriors giggled and nodded affirmatively at Suki's suggestion. Sokka turned and walked towards Suki.

**"**Well, if that's what you want, I'd be happy to. All right, you stand over there. He grasped her shoulders and pushed her back a little, but Suki didn't move. He didn't seem to notice or care. "This may be a little tough, but _try_ to block me."

Sokka threw a punch. Suki blocked it with a thrust of her fan to his shoulder. Her stance was disinterested and confident against Sokka's arrogance.

Sokka rubbed his shoulder "Heh heh... good. Of course, I was going easy on you." _Yeah right._

"Of course."

"Let's see if you can block _this!"_ Sokka lunged at Suki. She catched him under his leg and tossed backward toward the door. He landed on his butt, causing me to snigger.

**"**That does it!" he said angrily.

Sokka got up and lunged again at Suki. She grabed him by the arm, spined him around in circles, tied his arm to his foot with his own belt, and threw him to the floor.

Suki stood over Sokka, " Anything else you want to teach us?"

Sokka blushed and I, figuring the fight was over, slipped a dagger out of my boot and cut the belt, letting him escape. A thing I'd noticed had changed when I came over here was, instead of the penguin pjs I was wearing a dark blue Kimono with black leggings underneath. I had slim knee-length boots on, which had a handy compartment for dagger. I also had matching clothes from each nation, but I preferred the water nation ones. My hair had also changed. I was shocked that morning to find it was a dark black/blue when I plaited it. It was, when out, down to my waist, which was a big change from my old shoulder-length brown hair. My skin was quite tan, almost as dark at Katara and Sokka's skin.

Sokka took my hand when I pulled him up, looking embarrassed and slightly angry. He stormed off, but I stayed behind and looked over to Suki.

"So, you did quite well the other day when we ambushed you. That is, before you surrendered." Suki began. "Why did you surrender? And where did you learn those moves?"

Her eyes looked confused but curious, as well as the ever-present confidence. I tried to explain, "Well, when I saw your uniform, I recognised you as Kioshi warriors," I lied, "And as for the moves, I have no idea where they came from. But I would be honoured to learn from you." I bowed my head in respect, hoping she would say yes.

"Mmm, we don't usually teach outsiders, but you do have a lot of potential, and the right amount of respect," she chuckled softly. I looked up at Suki, "Why not?" she sure.

"Great! Thank-" I paused, trying act mature and responsible, "I mean, I am extremely grateful."

She smiled, "Then let us begin. But first, you'll need a uniform."

Sokka POV

It was already the afternoon and I still couldn't get the Kioshi warriors off my mind.

Stupid girls. Stupid Suki. She thinks she's so good, beating me up in front of Kaida. I probably looked like a wimp to her.

_Wait, who cares what Kaida thinks? _I do.

I know, I'll go back to the dojo and beg them to teach me, if necessary. And then I'll b able to show off to here, and beat that stupid Suki. _Yeah! Great plan! _I congratulated myself with a wide grin, which eventually faded when I got to the dojo. Then I remembered that I hadn't seen Kaida since when she helped me up. _ Where could she be?_

I stopped wondering when I came to the door, looking at the floor I began "Uh ... Hey Su-"

"Shhh!"

I was a little shocked to be interrupted so soon and as I looked up to see the warrior who shushed me staring at another warrior standing with a blindfold on. The other warriors were standing in a wide circle around her, leaving a gap opposite me. There was something familiar about the blindfolded warrior.

"Begin." I heard a voice say, it was another warrior.

The blindfolded girl opened her fans and got in an opening stance by the looks of it. My eyes widened when I saw three daggers fly through the air towards her. Then I finally recognised her.

"Kaida?"

Kaida POV

"First, you will learn how to use evasive manoeuvres."

I was dressed in the Kioshi Warrior outfit, complete with makeup and fans. The fans truly were beautiful, golden and elegant, but not girly. We were going over flexibility and how to use it against your opponent.

"I will attack you with a series of punches and kicks, and I want you to only move out of the way. Okay?" Suki came over to me and I fell into a defensive posture. "Ready?" I nodded.

Suki began slowly at first, throwing a few punches at my face and stomach. I dodged by moving from side to side or ducking. Then she got faster and began to aim kicks, which were harder to avoid. I flipped over backwards at one, then cart wheeling to the side at another punch. I was using muscles I didn't even know I had, simply going with instinct and trying to occasionally remember a move from the TV show. I was doing quite well so far, surprising myself and Suki. At one ferocious kick at the head, I ducked into the splits before rolling to the side.

Suki stood up straight before bowing, indicating the fight was over, "Very good. Next you will fight on the offence and defence, and remember, use your opponents strength against them."

She proceeded to kick at my head, when I grabbed her foot, twisting it so she fell to the floor. She landed in a crouch before springing back up. I punched at her head, which she blocked with her fan, but I pulled my other arm around before she had a chance to attack back, punching her in the ribs. She was knocked back, grimacing slightly, before kicking at me again. Using my fans to propel myself, I flipped over her head, so that I was behind her, before punching her in a pressure point in her back. I had learned that move from Ty Lee, and it succeeded in rendering her motionless on the ground. I tapped another point, giving her feeling in her arms back, and pulled her to her feet.

We both bowed, "Impressive. Now, we will start your work with daggers."

"Daggers?" I squeaked.

"Don't worry, you'll get it easy enough. Why, you'll probably be even better than me soon." I beamed at that. " So, with knives, you need to learn to listen. Concentrate on the air and you can hear them moving through the air. Ready to try?" I nodded apprehensively.

"Okay. There will be three rounds of knives." I hadn't noticed the warriors had gathered around us, one of them came and tied a blindfold over my eyes. "Remember, _listen _for it, and use your fans." I took out my fans and fell into an opening posture, on the defensive, ready for the knives.

"Begin." Another warrior said. I listened and surprised myself in hearing the knives cutting through the air, I concentrated hard, ignoring my surroundings, when I heard a "Kaida?"

I chose to ignore it as best I could. Two of the knives bounced of fans and I dodged the last one swiftly. I sensed four more being thrown, which I dodged by flipping over them. I sensed one right by my face, a bead of sweat slipped off my face onto it. The last round came and I tensed, ready to test myself. Dropping my fans I brought my hands up, there were five knives this time. Two I dodged, then, flipping over, caught two out of the air. While still airborne, I grasped the last between my feet, so when I landed I was balancing on the hilt.

Pleased with myself, I tore the blindfold off, bowing to a round of applause. I was almost knocked off my feet when someone ran over and hugged me. "What the-" I just about got out before seeing it was Sokka. "What were you doing?" He exclaimed "I thought they were gonna kill you!"

"I didn't know you cared so much." I grinned, remembering how he said the same thing to me the day before. He let go of me, blushing, before helping me to my feet. "That was amazing! How did you do that?"

"I just listened, I guess." I sais with a shrug of my shoulders.

"That was amazing." Suki walked over to us, "Actually, it's the best anyone has ever done. You are truly gifted, use those gifts for good." She smiled and picked up the fans from the floor, and handed them to me. "You've earned them." I bowed in thanks.

"Now, what do you want? Hoping for another dance lesson?" She said as turned to Sokka. I flinched at her harsher tone, but said nothing, knowing what was going to happen.

"No .. I ...well, let me explain."

"Spit it out! What do you want?" Part of me was tensing up, ready to hit her for being so harsh, the other, more rational part, knew doing that would only make the situation worse, so I held back.

He knelt down in humility, "I would be honoured if you would teach me."

Suki looked surprised and slightly sceptic, "Even if I'm a _girl?_"

"I'm sorry if I insulted you earlier. I was wrong. Kaida, especially, has shown me that." I smiled proudly, though was a bit shocked he had mentioned me.

"We normally don't teach outsiders, let alone _boys._"

"Please make an exception. I won't let you down."

I looked at Suki pleadingly when I caught her eye. She frowned then smiled slightly in agreement. I grinned.

"All right. But you'll have to follow all our traditions." My grin just got wider.

"Of course." Sokka said quickly.

"And I mean ALL of them."

X

"Do I really have to wear this? It feels... girly."

The rest of the girls had cleared out when Sokka was getting changed, so it was just Sokka, Suki and I. I chose to stick around, there was no way I was missing this!

Sokka was looking down at his uniform. I was giggling as quietly into my hand, my whole body shaking with the effort of not laughing.

"It's a warriors uniform. You should be proud." Suki tried to reassure him. "The silk thread symbolizes the brave blood that flows through our veins. The gold insignia represents the honour of the warriors heart." _I had to admit, he did look good in it, _I giggled.

Sokka stood up straighter and proudly said, "Bravery and honour."

Just then Aang walked by, spotting Sokka. He turned back and ducked his head in, smiling mischievously. "Hey Sokka! Nice dress!"

I couldn't hold it in any more. I burst out laughing, bending over whilst trying desperately to breathe. Even though I'd seen Sokka in his 'dress' a million times watching this episode, it was so much funnier in real life. Sokka slumped his shoulders, his momentary pride crushed by Aang, Suki smiling at him, enjoying his discomfort.

Eventually I got up, wiping away the amused tears that had sprung to my eyes. Still giggling a bit, I walked over to Sokka and apologised. "It's okay." He said. He still sounded sad so I gave him a quick hug before backing off, looking over at Suki expectantly. Sokka shook his head and looked back at Suki too.

X

"You're not gonna master it in one day, even I'm not that good."

Sokka was repeatedly following a drill Suki had shown us.I was standing next to him, also doing the movements, but noticeably a lot more gracefully. The drill was quite easy, just a set of sweeping motions with our fans, occasionally stepping into a new position.

"I think I'm starting to get it." Sokka defended, slightly losing his balance. He did a particularly aggressive move, accidently throwing his fan my way. I had to quickly drop into the splits to avoid it, glaring at Sokka a little as he muttered "Oops."

"It's not about strength," Suki said, walking over to Sokka, "Our technique is about using your opponents' force against them. Loosen up. Think of the fan as an extension of your arm." She handed him another fan and got into a battle stance. I backed away, looking forward to watching Sokka get his revenge. "Wait for an opening and then ..." Suki lunged at Sokka and he parried the thrust, knocking her off her feet. She looked surprised and embarrassed as she glanced up at him from her spot on the floor.

"Hmm.." Sokka crossed his arms in a 'so there' manner.

"I fell on purpose to make you _feel_ better!" she lied as she got to her feet, flustered.

Sokka laughed and pointed his finger at her, "I got you! Admit I got you!"

I grinned at how childish they were being. That's what made the show so great and fun; although it was serious and action-packed at times, it was still full of funny parts.

Suki laughed and grabbed Sokka's outstretched hand, twisting it back painfully, "Okay it was a lucky shot. Let's see if you can do it again."

They assumed battle positions and began to circle each other. I watched for a while, they seemed to be evenly matched. Every time one tried to punch or kick, the other would block. Suki was more graceful, whereas Sokka was stiffer and his movements more simple compared to Suki's complicated ones.

They stopped after a few minutes, both panting slightly, and Suki turned to me. "Not bad Sokka, but let's see how you'll do against Kaida." I grinned evilly and stepped forward into an opening stance, not missing Sokka's nervous look before he too took up a position.

"Ready when you are." I said as Suki moved off to the side. Sokka took the first move, sending a punch at my stomach. I easily blocked before stepping to the slide, kicking at _his _stomach, being careful it wasn't too hard. He fell to the floor from the impact, before jumping back up. This time I attacked first, kicking out his leg so he fell backwards. He got up again with a grunt, this time with a more determined expression. He was panting whilst I was hardly breaking a sweat. After a series of quick punches, me blocking all of his, whilst I hit him a few times, I decided it was getting a bit boring. So, I flipped over him when he made a punch at me, using his head to propel me. Landing on the other side, I hooked my foot around his ankle, tripping him, the slipped to my knees, pinning his arms down with two well thrown daggers to his sleeves. "I win." He looked shocked as I stepped back up again.

I heard some slow clapping from Suki, she was smiling at me, looking a little jealous which I ignored.

"Wow, that was really good use of agility and speed. Great aim by the way."

I smiled at her, "Thank you. You're pretty good yourself." I added jokingly.

"Hello? Is anyone gonna help me up?" Sokka was still pinned to the floor, looking a little irritated. I laughed before helping him up. "Sorry Sok." I said.

"Sok?" he asked, raising a quizzical eyebrow. "My new nickname for you." I grinned.

"Ugh! Fine but I get to pick a name for you too!" he said, with a mischievous glint in his eye.

"Whatever." I said. In truth I was a bit nervous about what it would be, but chose to act indifferent.

Oyagi ran into the dojo, breathless, "Firebenders have landed on the shore! Girls come quickly!"

I knew this was coming, but was still nervous about seeing Zuko for the first time, in more ways than one. I smiled at Sokka when he said, "Hey, I'm not a... oh, whatever!"

We ran out, me slightly behind the other two, looking for my opening.

"Come out, Avatar! You can't hide from me forever!" I heard a voice sound not too far away. _You idiot,_ I thought, _he's probably being attacked by the Unagi at this very moment! _That made me pause for a second, worrying about Aang even though I knew he was okay. I shook myself and ran towards Zuko, taking out a few soldiers along the way. _This is quite fun actually!_ I thought before seeing Zuko throw a fireball at Suki, who was on the floor, to be blocked by Sokka. I smiled even more when I saw him fall off. _Klutz._

I ran faster to them, seeing Zuko jump back up again, about to fight some of the warriors, who I knew stood no chance.

"Back off, he's mine."

Zuko POV

I jumped up again after being knocked down, surprised, by that stupid peasant. What confused me was he looked oddly like a boy in those 'Kyoshi warrior' dresses. I looked around, ready for the approaching warriors, when I heard a female voice.

"Back off, he's mine."

I smirked then turned to the girl, pausing when I took in her figure and pale skin. Her hair was so dark black it had a blue-ish tint, which was odd as all the other warriors had brown hair and brown or green eyes. She looked both beautiful and dangerous, which I liked.

_Stupid teenage hormones,_ I thought. The most striking thing about her was her soft, sapphire eyes. They were stormy at the moment, glaring at me, but I could detect a flicker of something else that I couldn't recognise.

_She's just a little girl. This should be easy. _I got into a fighting stance, ready as I had been for the other warriors. She wouldn't be much better, for sure. I saw the other girls moving away, which confused me for a second, before I turned back to _her._

"Bring it."

Kaida POV

"Bring it."

I smirked._ This will be fun._ He shot a fire blast at me, which I easily dodged, followed by several more. I just had to keep him busy until Aang came and finished it. He was still not so good, I could see. Compared to his skills in season 3, this was pathetic. Flipping over another blast, I landed behind him. Leaning close, I whispered in his ear, "That all you got, hotshot?"

He spun round, looking a bit confused before his face set into stone. He then shot a fire ball out of his fist. But before that, I detected something else in his golden eyes, something that made me shiver, but not out of the cold or fear.

I didn't have any time to dodge his next blast, so, pulling out my fans, I opened them in front of me. When the blast hit I pushed the fans forward again, so that the fire was propelled forward, at Zuko. His eyes widened in shock at my skill, and I smirked. He was pushed backwards, hitting a wall before sliding to the floor. He got back up again, glaring at me. "That's it peasant, you're going down!" He spat.

I rolled my eyes, "So dramatic!" I said in a fake shocked voice, and then I laughed. He looked at me, surprised, then stepped forwards, getting ready to 'fight' me, if that's what he calls it. I was having too much fun!

"Hey! Over here!"

I looked over to see Aang. I stepped back; it was his turn to face Zuko, before running towards the others warriors, kicking and tripping a few along the way. Once I got to where I knew Sokka and Suki where, I backed away a little, knowing Suki was about to kiss Sokka. But I was surprised when a non-blushing Sokka grabbed my arm, "C'mon, we need to get on Appa!" he yelled, trying to be heard over all the fighting.

I looked at him, confused. He should still be talking to Suki, according to the episode. "What about Suki?" I asked, trying to detect any blush.

"What about her? Come on! We have to get outta here!" He asked, looking genualy confused, so I conclude that she hadn't kissed him, which confused me even more. He didn't even seem to care about her!

Before I could think any more, Sokka dragged me onto Appa. I sat down, closing my eyes. It had been a long day. I felt Appa take off and, a few moments later, heard Katara yell, "What are you doing?" I opened my eyes, though secretly knowing exactly what was happening.

The next thing I saw was Aang rising from the water, holding the whisker-like things on the unagi lie reigns. He pulled the creature around, it shooting water from his mouth, drenching the fires in the village, and some very unhappy firebenders. I laughed when I saw Zuko's face as we flew past. He was completely soaked! We locked eyes for a second. His lost the anger and mine, surprisingly, still contained their warmth. I noticed I was still smiling, and faintly, I'm not even sure if I was imagining it, the corner of his mouth twitched upwards in a smile, a proper, _warm _smile. There was something in those golden depths, something different, something I hadn't seen in any of the episodes.

"Kaida, are you okay?" I jumped round to see Sokka looking at me with a quizzical expression.

"I'm fine, just a bit tired." I said. It was true, I was _very _tired, but that wasn't the whole story.

"Um, you can lean on my shoulder and sleep, if um, you want." He said nervously.

I smiled, _he's so cut when he's nervous! _In answer I leant against him. It felt quite nice, he was surprisingly warm and I snuggled into his side, falling asleep quickly.

My smile deepened when I felt an arm drape across my back.


	7. Chapter 7

**Yey! Another chapter! I am good to you :D**

**Okay, let's get serious. Who should Sokka end up with? Suki, or Toph? Please R&R with a reply, constructive criticism or just to say nice things! XD**

**Oh, by the way, in the last chapter I describe Kaida as tanned and Zuko described Kaida as pale, she is tanned. Tanned I tell you!**

**Disclaimer: Ich keine own A:TLA (I don't own A:TLA)**

Bumi and Omashu

Kaida POV

We were walking up a hill, towards, as I knew, the city of Omashu. It was utterly boring. So boring I was questioning killing myself. _Aahh! I'm starting to think like Mai! Think positive, think positive! _I chanted. _The scenery, yeah, the scenery's nice._

It was. Behind us were several snow-covered mountains, and a forest in front of them that we had just come out of. We hadn't seen anyone since Kyoshi Island, and we had run out of things to say. Luckily, I wasn't very social myself, so didn't feel the need to constantly talk.

I was hanging behind, humming a random tune to myself, gazing into the distance. Aang and the others were already at the crest of the hill.

"The Earth Kingdom of Omashu!" I heard Aang say. Looking up I walked quickly to the others, staring past Sokka's shoulder. The city was as beautiful as it was in the TV series. A walled city, shaped like an Aztec pyramid, set on top of a huge rock only accessible by a narrow, switchback road. The city looked both impressive and impenetrable.

Aang looked back to us. I stood back Sokka, listening to Aang even though I knew what he was going to say. That was getting old fast.

"I used to always come here to visit my friend, Bumi."

"Wow. We don't have cities like this in the South Pole." Katara commented.

"They have buildings here that don't melt!" Sokka said in amazement.

"Well, it _is_ called the Earth Kingdom; therefore I'm guessing the buildings are made of _earth._" I said to him, with a role of my eyes. Sokka just muttered something like 'know-it-all.' So I stood on his foot. Hard.

"Well, let's go slow pokes! The real fun is inside the city!" Aang launched himself into the air and landed a little further down the road.

"Wait, Aang! It could be dangerous if people find out you're the Avatar." Katara warned.

"You need a disguise." Sokka said.

"So, what am I supposed to do? Grow a moustache?"

_Exactly._

X

"Ohh, this is so itchy!" Aang said before looking at Appa, "How do you live in this stuff?" Appa grunted at him in response. I giggled when I looked at him. He had stuffed some of Appa's fur up into a wig, and some more he stuck on his face to look like a moustache.

"Great! Now you look just like my grandfather." Said Sokka.

"Technically, Aang is 112 years old." Katara said.

Aang picked up his staff and, using a fake, old man voice said, "Now let's get to skippin', young whippersnappers! The big city awaits."

Aang began to walk hunched over, using his staff as a walking stick.

x

A few minutes later we were walking along another bit of the road, nearing the gate.

Aang said, "You guys are gonna love Omashu. The people here are the friendliest in the world."

Just then we heard a rough voice. The four of us stopped short at the sound, and we looked at the city gate just up ahead. A merchant was trying to get into the city, which I nick-named 'Cabbage man', but the three guards were giving him trouble.

"Rotten cabbages! What kind of slum do you think this is?" said the gate guard.

We looked closer at the guards and the merchant. The guard was holding one of the offending cabbages. He crushed the cabbage in his hand, and knocked those in the merchant's arms over the side of the access road. The guard then earth bended a lump of the ground, knocking the merchant's cabbage cart high into the air and over the side of the access road. The cart and all the merchant's cabbages plunged hundreds of feet to the valley floor below.

"Noo! My cabbages!" yelled cabbage man; I just stopped myself from laughing out loud. Poor guy, little did he know that more cabbages would be destroyed later. By us.

I looked at the other three, who were staring at the gate, looking terrified.

"Just keep smiling." Aang said quietly. I grinned. _Oh, I will._

Aang walked forward with a big smile. Katara tittered uneasily, but she and Sokka followed. The guard who has just obliterated the cart walked forward to meet Aang. He earthbended a huge boulder out of the ground and held it over Aang's head.

"State you business!" the guard yelled.

Aang rushed forward out from under the rock in a move much too sprightly for his supposed age. He pointed an accusing finger at the guard and, using his old man voice, began to speak.

"My business is my business, young man, and none of yours! I've got half a mind to bend you over my knee and paddle your backside!" Aang said. I almost laughed at the guard's face; he looked a little shocked and dropped the stone in surprise. The rock landed heavily, making Sokka, Katara and I fly about a foot into the air. I turned to Sokka and Katara, remembering how they had looked in this episode. I smirked when I saw they both looked terrified at what Aang was doing.

"Settle down, old timer. Just tell me who you are." The guard said, regaining his posture.

" Name's Bonzu Pipinpadaloxicopolis, the Third, and these are my grandkids." _How could anyone fall for such a stupid name?_

Katara, now smiling serenely, walked over to them, "Hi, June Pipinpadaloxicopolis. Nice to meet you."

The guard, whilst pointing to Katara, said, "You seem like a responsible young lady. See that your grandfather stays out of trouble. Enjoy Omashu!"

"We will."

I walked over to Aang and Katara, when the guard motioned for us to pass. We walked forward into the city with Sokka trailing behind us.

"Wait a minute!" the gate guard said suddenly. He grabbed Sokka by the shoulder just after he passed. Everyone looked panicked, but I just kept the calm look on my face. "You're a strong young boy. Show some respect for the elderly and carry your grandfather's bag."

"Good idea!" Aang said. He threw his bag at Sokka, who caught it with a grunt. We walked through the gate, watching the interlocking walls open with earthbending. We all stared at it, shocked by the size and power of the fortification. Once we were inside we looked over the railing at the interior of the city. There were hundreds of houses with roofs painted Earth Kingdom green, and there were shoots all over the city with crates and packages sliding along them.

Aang began explaining the system, "This is the Omashu delivery system. Miles and miles of tubes and chutes. Earthbending brings the packages up and gravity brings them down ."

"Great, so they get their mail on time." Sokka said sarcastically.

"They do get their mail on time, but my friend Bumi found a better use for these chutes. I zoned out again, remembering watching Aang talk to his friend Bumi about this.

X

The next thing I knew, we were in the cart. It was a tight squeeze. First was Aang, then Katara, me and finally Sokka, who was blushing furiously but trying to hide his face by looking with fake interest behind us.

"One ride, then we're off to the North Pole, Airbender's honour." Aang promised.

"This sounded like fun at first," Katara began nervously, "but now that I'm here, I'm starting to have second thoughts!" As Katara finished her sentence, we teetered forward onto the track.

"Aaaah!" Katara screamed. We were going straight down an almost vertical drop. It was terrifying but exhilarating.

"Whoo-hoo!" I yelled, grinning from ear to ear. This was _way _better than any rollercoaster I'd been on. Aang was laughing, whilst Katara and Sokka just sat there, looking petrified, and causing me to giggle too.

A few seconds later I looked across at another track beside us, about to merge with our track. On it was a rack of spears. I looked forward again, screaming with the others. As the spears approached, Sokka lay down low to avoid them. I ducked too before they could spear me, my head ending up on Sokka's shoulder.

Before they could get to Katara, Aang said, "I'm on it! I'm on it!"

He started rocking the cart back and forth until it derailed. The bin began to freefall onto the roof below, shooting past a group of guards. I ducked down low to keep from bouncing out of the cart, not noticing Sokka's arms around me protectively.

Aang airbended the cart into the air, then it somehow landed back onto another track. We were rocketing down it again, when Katara said, "Aang! Do something! Use your Airbending!" Clearly meaning to use it to slow down.

"Yeah! Good idea! That'll make us go even faster!" He blasted air behind us, making us go even faster.

"WHOO! YEAH!" I yelled, thoroughly enjoying myself. I noticed people looking at us in alarm as we whizzed by, so I gave them a quick wave with a smile, before disappearing from their view. As we approached the drop down of the last major chute, we all screamed as we saw the off-load point in front of us. The off-load had a package that we were about to hit! The earthbender moved it out of the way, and we all breathed a sigh of relief, though it didn't last long, as he raised another package onto the platform.

We started screaming again and I clutched Sokka's arm that was already around my waist. Thankfully, rather than hit the package, we hit the side of the trench and run off track again. We all fell out of the cart, and I squeezed my eyes shut, holding onto Sokka and Katara's hands to keep us together. Aang airbended us back in the cart and I landed sort of awkwardly, sitting in Sokka's lap, with my feet in the air over the side of the cart.

We bounced off a roof and I didn't even bother trying to right myself, just holding onto the cart and Sokka for dear life. We flew through a few windows, destroying a man's pottery along the way, before finally landing into a cabbage cart.

"My cabbages! You're gonna pay for this!" Cabbage guy threatened. We were quickly surrounded by guards with spears.

"Two cabbages please." Aang said, sheepishly.

I jumped up out of Sokka's arms, yelling, "That was AWESOME!" They all looked at me like I was crazy.

"What? It was."

X

We walked into the King's throne chamber, before being forced to our knees by the guard that caught us after destroying the cabbage cart. The chamber was decorated in shades of Earth Kingdom green. The King sat on his throne in the distance, the room was enormous!

The King looked up at us, and I remembered this was Bumi. You could recognize him from Aang's memory by his eyes. Both from the colour and the strange way one was bigger than the other.

"Hmm?" said King Bumi.

"Your majesty," began a guard, "these juveniles were arrested for vandalism, travelling under false pretences and malicious destruction of cabbages." I smirked, looking at Cabbage guy's murderous expression.

"Off with their heads! One for each head of cabbage!" he yelled.

"Uh, dude, we don't have enough heads." I put in.

"Silence! Only the King can pass down judgment. What is your judgment, Sire?"

Bumi looked at each of us. Sokka looked around nervously from my side, Katara gazed up at him hopefully on my other side, and Aang tried to look invisible. I just stared at the King in understanding, mouthing, "Hello, Bumi," with a smile. He nodded at me, smiling a little himself, before turning serious, or as serious Bumi could be.

"Throw them...a feast!"

The guards make noises of surprise, the merchant of chagrin. I just smiled again.

"Huh?" Aang looked confused.

X

A few minutes later we sat at a table loaded with food. I sat in between Sokka and Aang, with Katara on Aang's other side. Momo was stuffing goodies into his mouth on the right side of the table, making me giggle lightly. Behind us King Bumi was standing.

" Heheh!" he said, "The people in my city have gotten fat from too many feasts, so I hope you like your chicken with no skin."

"Thanks, but I don't eat meat." Aang replied. I don't know if I could ever be a vegetarian, but I wasn't obsessed with meat like Sokka was.

King Bumi looked at Sokka, "How about you? I bet you like meat." He stuck the drumstick in Sokka's mouth, making me giggle even more.

Sokka began chewing "Mmm!"

Katara turned to Aang and I heard her say softly, "Is it just me, or is this guy's crown a little crooked?"

"So, tell me young bald one. Where are you from?"

"I'm from...Kangaroo Island." _Can't he come up with anything better then 'Kangaroo Island'?_

"Oh, Kangaroo Island, eh? I hear that place is really hoppin!

It's completely silent, so I giggled politely, whilst Sokka laughs loudly and embarrassingly. We all look at him like he has grown a third head.

"What? It was pretty funny." Sokka defended.

King Bumi yawned, "Well, all these good jokes are making me tired. Guess it's time to the hay."

As he ended his sentence, he suddenly threw another drumstick at Aang, who airbended it to a standstill, though he was very surprised. It spun in the air in front of him and the guards drew a breath in surprise.

King Bumi looked at Aang suspiciously. "There's an airbender in our presence and not just any airbender, the Avatar!" He stood. Aang dropped the drumstick, trying to act like he didn't just reveal himself. "Now what do you have to say for yourself, Mr. Pipinpadaloxicopolis?"

Everything's silent for a second before Aang stood up and spread his arms wide in a gesture of defeat.

"Okay! You caught me. I'm the Avatar, doing my Avatar thing, keeping the world safe. Everything checks out," he pretended to look under the table, "no firebenders here. So, good work everybody." He put his arms around Katara and Sokka's shoulders, dragging them away. I stood up but didn't move, it wasn't like we were going anywhere for a while, "Love each other, respect all life and don't run with your spears. We'll see you next time!"

The three have been walking backwards to the door, Sokka beckoning furiously for me to follow, but the guards stopped them.

**"**You can't keep us here. Let us leave." Katara said.

"Lettuce leaf?" Bumi asked.

He picked up a lettuce leaf from the plate in front of him and took a bite, and I giggled again. Sokka grabbed my arm to pull me beside them, and he leant over to speak in a low voice to us.

"We're in serious trouble. This guy is nuts."

King Bumi looked at us closely, "Tomorrow the Avatar will face three deadly challenges. But for now, the guards will show you to your chamber."

"My liege, do you mean the good chamber, or the bad chamber?" A guard asked.

"The newly refurbished chamber."

"Wait, which one are we talking about?"

"The one that used to be the bad chamber, until the recent refurbishing that is. Of course, we've been calling it the new chamber, but we really should number them. Uh, take them to the refurbished chamber that was once bad!"

We were let out by the guards through a wall that was torn open by earthbending. We were thrust in and the wall was closed again by earthbending. The chamber was beautiful, spacious and furnished with four comfortable beds.

**"**This is a prison cell? But it's so nice." Katara asked.

"He did say it was newly refurbished." said Aang.

"Nice or not, we're still prisoners." Sokka said.

"I wonder what these challenges are gonna be."

I sat down on a bed, not bothering to listen to their conversation about escaping. Instead I followed a crack on the wall, tracing it with my eyes.

"Hey, you okay?" I sat up to see Sokka looking at me with a worried expression on his face. I smiled and replied, "I'm fine, just really tired."

"I think we should all get some sleep. Get some rest, Aang. Looks like you'll need it for tomorrow." Katara said as she got into bed.

Aang walked dejectedly over to the last unoccupied bed.

X

I fell asleep quickly, to be awoken a few hours later by four guards. "C'mon, get up." One of them said that one that had shaken me awake.

"What? Why?" I had noticed Katara and Sokka being held by two guards by the open wall. They were gagged to keep them quiet. This just made me more nervous and my voice got louder and higher, "What are you doing? Leave them alone!"

One guard lunged at me, and I rolled off the bed before springing back up again using my hands. The guard got angry at me and kicked a rock at me, which I easily flipped over. The rock crashed into the wall, making a loud "BANG!"

"Shh! Stop!" another guard said. He had a kinder face so I listened, "Listen, we promise not to hurt you or your friends if you just come with us."

I decided it best to just go with it, so I nodded. One guard tried to grab my arm, but I gave him a glare that could scare the fire lord himself until he let go. We were led through a corridor, then back into the throne room. I could see Bumi and Aang across from us.

Three guards came over and placed crystal rings on our fingers, Sokka's was dark blue, Katara's a light green and mine a light blue. Katara and Sokka struggled to take the rings off, but I didn't bother, knowing it wouldn't come off anyway. I listened as Bumi explained, "...so I will give your friends some special souvenirs. Those delightful rings are made of pure genemite, also known as creeping crystal. It's crystal that grows remarkably fast. By nightfall your friends will be completely covered in it. Terrible fate, really. I can stop it, but only if you cooperate."

I looked down at my ring. It was starting to grow in jolts up my finger. I panicked a little, but tried to remain calm. Someone had to. 

Sokka's eyebrow twitched, "Ah! It's already creeping!"

Aang looked at Bumi, "I'll do as you want."

King Bumi grinned evilly, "Mmm!"

XxxX

We were led (again) to a balcony. We were inside a deep cavern, the floor covered in stalagmites. Aang stood on a small smoothed area of stone on the other side of the cavern. In front of us was a large waterfall, coming from the ceiling. The water was extremely fast flowing, and in the centre of it was a small key on a chain, with a ladder under it. The crystal was almost our to our elbows now, and still 'creaping'.

"It seems I've lost my lunchbox key and I'm hungry. Ooo, there it is," Bumi said in fake surprise, "Would you mind fetching it for me?"

I could see Aang clench his fists in determination, before using his airbending to jump from stalagmite to stalagmite. With one last leap, he shot into the waterfall, grabbing onto the ladder. I was watching worriedly, completely forgetting that I knew the outcome already.

"Ooo, climbing the ladder. No one's thought of that before." Bumi said sarcastically.

Suddenly, Aang flew from the waterfall. Katara, Sokka and I stepped forward with a gasp. I sighed in relief when I saw him stop himself between two stalagmites. I stepped back again, focussing on what I knew would happen, instead of listening to the worried noises from Sokka and Katara, and Bumi's comment s.

_Okay, _I thought, _this is what's going to happen_; _Aang will try jumping into the waterfall again. Failing to do so he will throw a stalagmite into it, knocking the key of the chain and slamming it into the wall above Bumi's head. _And sure enough, just then I heard a 'Whoosh' before a 'crack'. Looking up I saw the key dangling above Bumi's head. By then, the crystal was already up to my shoulder.

"There! Enjoy your lunch! I want my friends back, now!" Aang yelled at the crazy king.

Bumi looked disappointed for a second before the white things coming out his hat drooped slightly.

"Uh, not yet." Bumi pretended to look upset, "I need help with another matter. It seems I've lost my pet Flopsy."

X

Next we were up behind a railing, above a shallow arena. In the middle on a rock was a small bunny with long, floppy ears.

"Okay, found him!" Aang looked up at us. _Yeah, like it would be that easy._

"Bring him to me! Daddy wants a kiss from Flopsy!"

Aang walked slowly over to 'Flopsy', whilst a huge monster, the real Flopsy, landed behind him. It vaguely resembled a rabbit, except for its huge fangs and horns. Aang ran after 'Flopsy', yelling "Flopsy! Wait! Flopsy! Flopsy!"

Bumi is cackling maniacally, and I was chuckling slightly. It was funny watching Aang get chased around by a giant furry monster. The rabbit jumps through the wall, into a rabbit wall. Aang finally seems to realise something. "Flopsy?" he asks the monster.

Flopsy instantly stops and wags his tail, and, picking up Aang in his giant arm, started making gentle noises. I smiled, it was pretty cute.

Bumi whistled and Flopsy ran over to us, dropping Aang. It scaled the wall and Aang came over to Sokka, Katara and I. "Guys, are you okay?" Aang asked.

"Other than the crystal slowly in casing my entire body, doing great." Katara's crystal was shaped like a dress from her shoulders. My looked similar, but my right arm was free outside the crystal, making it look like a one-shouldered dress. Sokka's was the opposite of ours. His crystal was now up past his head, looking like an upside down tent. A new length of crystal grew on the left side of his head, unbalancing him and causing him to tip over. I laughed at him; you could always rely on Sokka for that.

Aang went over to Bumi, "Come on. I'm ready for the next challenge."

XxXxX

Finally, we entered a large indoor arena. Katara, Sokka and eye were on a balcony with a guard next to us, and Aang and Bumi on another to my right. We were now completely encased in crystal, except for our heads and feet.

"Your final test is a duel and as a special treat you may choose your opponent. Point and choose."

Two enormous gladiator type characters show up to flank King Bumi. The champion on the left was a muscular man with a nasty smile and a huge axe. The champion on the right was a mammoth fighter who looked like he relied upon brute strength. Aang was clearly terrified, and I felt sorry for him.

"So, you're saying whoever I point to, that's the person I get to fight?"

"Choose wisely."

Aang looked between the two champions and Bumi, "I...choose... you!" He pointed at Bumi.

"Haha! Wrong choice!"

Bumi clenched his fists and straightened up, making sickening crunching sounds. He dumped his odd, purple robes to reveal a surprisingly muscular body for such an old man. It was kind of disgusting. He pushed Aang off the balcony with his earthbending, before launching himself of it, landing close to Aang.

I didn't really want to watch the fight as I'd seen it in quite a few times, so I took to daydreaming. The first thing that came to my mind was a set of golden eyes. _Zuko. _

He was acting so strange that day, I mean, he even _smiled! _Zuko never smiles! Also, that look in his eyes, I'd never seen it before, not in any episode. The only thing it reminded me vaguely of was the way he looked at Mai at the end of season 3, and the unknown emotion was a lot stronger looking at me than it was when he looked at Mai.

That was the thing about Zuko; he was so_ confusing. _I knew basically everything about him; I knew things that even Iroh didn't know, from watching the series. But that's what I liked about him; he wasn't predictable, like the rest of the characters. Like, in series 1 and most of 2 he was evil, the enemy. But in season 3, or most of it, he was the good guy.

_Also, he's soo hot!_

What! I can't be thinking that! Zuko's the enemy!

_For now... _

Ugh! Okay, I cannot be thinking of things like that now! Plus, he's still evil.

_Not evil, just...lost. _

Well he can stay lost for all I care.

_Oh, so you do care! _

Oh, SHUT U-

Wait. I'm having an argument with myself. Okay, stop. Daydreaming. NOW!

I shook myself lightly. Looking around I could see Aang and Bumi standing under a huge rock. Faintly, I heard Bumi say, "Hehe! Well done, Avatar. You fight with much fire in your heart."

Bumi threw the rock to the other side of the arena. He then lay back on the floor, sinking into it like it was sand. A moment later he jumped up out of the ground beside Sokka, Katara and I. Aang used his staff as a helicopter blade, landing next to us.

"You've passed all my tests. Now, you must answer one question." Bumi said.

"That's not fair! You said you would release my friends if I finished your tests." Aang complained.

"Oh, but what's the point of tests if you don't learn anything?"

"Oh come on!" Sokka shouted in disbelief.

"Answer this one question and I will set your friends free."

" What... is my name? From the looks of your friends, I'd say you only have a few minutes." Bumi walked away again, leaving us to talk.

"How am I supposed to know his name?"

"Think about the challenges, maybe it's some kind of riddle." Katara said.

"I got it!" we all looked at Sokka.

"Yeh?" Aang was looking a little happier.

"He's an earthbender, right? Rocky!" Everyone was silent, and I rolled my eyes. "You know, because of all the rocks?"

"We're gonna keep trying, but that is a good backup." Katara said.

_HIS NAME IS BUMI! _I wanted to scream, but kept quiet. Aang needed to figure this out on his own.

"Okay, so back to the challenges. I got a key from the waterfall. I saved his pet and I had a duel."

"And what did you learn?" Katara asked.

"Well, everything was different than I expected."

"And...?" A piece of crystal began to grow into her cheek.

"Well, they weren't straightforward. To solve each test, I had to think differently than I usually would." Realization swept his features, and I smiled. "I know his name!"

XxX

We were back in the throne room, and only the top half of my face was visible. We, (Katara, Sokka and I) stood back as Aang went over to talk to Bumi.

"I solved the question the same way I solved the challenges." Aang began, "As you said a long time ago, I had to open my brain to the possibilities." King Bumi started to laugh and snort, like the Bumi in Aang's memory. "Bumi, you're a mad genius!" I smiled as he ran over to Bumi and hugged him.

"Oh, Aang. It's good to see you. You haven't changed a bit. Literally." 

We walked over to them as Bumi rubbed Aang's head.

"Uh, over here!" I looked over at Katara. All you could now see was her face. Still, it wasn't as bad as me. Then again, all you could see of Sokka was his mouth.

"Little help?" He asked.

Bumi made a pulling gesture with his fist, shattering the crystal from around us. I breathed a sigh of relief, rolling my shoulders, happy to be able to move properly again. Crystal flies all over and King Bumi catches a piece.

" Genemite is made of rock candy." Bumi said, then he took a bit, "Delicious!"

"So this crazy king is your old friend, Bumi?" Katara asked.

"Who you calling old? He paused, "Okay. I'm old."

"Why did you do all this instead of just telling Aang who you were?" Sokka asked.

"First of all, it's pretty fun messing with people, hehe, but I do have a reason he turned to Aang. "Aang, you have a difficult task ahead. The world has changed in the hundred years you've been gone. It's the duty of the Avatar to restore balance to the world by defeating Fire Lord Ozai. You have much to learn. You must master the four elements and confront the Fire Lord, and when you do, I hope you will think like a mad genius!" Aang smiled then clasped his hands together in thanks, and bowed. And it looks like you're in good hands. You'll need your friends to help defeat the Fire Nation." Momo jumped on Aang's shoulder, "And you'll need Momo too."

"Thank you for your wisdom. But before we leave, I have a challenge for you!"

XxXx

We all laughed as Aang told us of his 'cart adventure' with Bumi. I'd never laughed so much in my life in such a short time. When we got back to Appa, we quickly got on before taking off over Omashu.

I looked over at Sokka, who I was sitting next. He was munching on something dark blue in his hands. I looked closer and saw it was some Genemite.

I rose my eyebrow questionably when he saw me looking.

"What? It tastes pretty good!" he defended.

"Whatever, Sokka." I said as I lay back. The sky was already full of stars. They were beautiful. I saw a shooting star cross over the sky and made a wish.

_I wish I could stay here forever._


	8. Chapter 8

**Yay! Another chapter! Enjoy! **

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**Thank you to everyone who has reviewed!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own A:TLA**

Inspiration

I looked around at the clearing we were in. Aang was leaning against an old fallen oak, and Katara was folding up a blanket. I was practising some basic waterbending moves. Well, trying to, but instead I was just streaming the water around my body, looking at what the others were doing. After a while I got bored, so I looked around for something else to do. I wandered over to my bag, and spotted my broadswords on the ground beside it. I lifted them up and, sliding them out of their deep blue-black cases, studied the design. The handles were also a deep blue-black, elegantly made and perfectly fitted to my hands. When I held them out in front of me, it felt natural.

_Well, _I thought, _I have to learn sometime. _I started with a few lunges, similar to the movements I made whilst waterbending. I swept my arm across, and created an imaginary opponent in my mind's eye. He looked similar to Zuko dressed as the Blue Spirit, as he was the only one I'd ever seen with broadswords. I stepped forward, lunging for 'Zuko's arm. 'He' stepped to the side, avoiding it, before lunging at me. I flipped backwards, and then spun around to give me some momentum. The swords went straight through imaginary Zuko's stomach.

I remembered another fanfict I had read. The character had been attacking with broadswords and had paired it with waterbending. So, I thought I would have a go. Holding my swords out in front of me, I concentrated on moving two streams of water. Each stream held the position of the sword, just a few feet in front of me. Merging the two streams like a water whip, I pulled my arms back across my left side. As fast as I could, aiming for a tree, I stepped forward, bringing my arms with me in a sharp sweeping movement. I gasped quietly when I saw the tree. The water had sliced right through it, chopping the top half of the tree off. This was no mean feat, as the tree was an old, thick, strong one. I tried it a few more times, finding that when I combined my swords with my waterbending, the water could become a lot more sharp and quick.

Smiling, I put my swords away and glanced around, looking for Sokka. Sokka had gone out to get some food an hour ago, and he should have been back by then.

"Great, you're back! What's for dinner?" I looked up again, and saw Sokka heading back towards us. Momo came with him, screeching and chirping.

"We've got a few options," Sokka began, "First, round nuts and some kind of oval shaped nuts, and some rock shaped nuts that ... might just be rocks." He threw a rock shaped nut over his shoulder to Momo. "Dig in!"

Katara, Aang and I looked at each other. "Seriously, what else ya got?" Katara asked.

Sokka peered into the bag, hoping to find that some food had magically appeared. I looked over his shoulder at Momo, who was busy eyeing the nut/rock suspiciously. He picked it up and tapped it on a rock. When nothing happened, he tried again, this time harder. At that moment, a huge 'Bang!' sounded close to us in the forest. I looked to where it came from and remembered, _Haru._

"What was that?" Sokka said, getting a bit panicked. It sure didn't take much to set him off.

"It's coming from over there!" Aang pointed ahead of us.

Katara and Aang rushed off towards the sound, leaving Sokka and me behind. "C'mon, Sokka!" I shouted to him before following the other two.

"Shouldn't we run away from huge booms, not toward them?" Sokka said, a few moments later I heard his footsteps following. I stopped next to Katara and Aang behind a fallen tree, followed closely by Sokka. In front of us was a river bed that had been reduced to a small stream, and a young earth bender, who I knew was Haru, practising earth bending. He lifted a large boulder off the ground and, turning in a semi-circle, with one last shove, pushed it into the side of the river bed.

"An earthbender!" Katara exclaimed. _Duh._

"Let's go meet them!" Aang said.

"Um, I don't think we should..." I started, but stopped, knowing they wouldn't listen anyway.

"He looks dangerous, so we better approach cautiously." Sokka said.

Unfortunately, it seemed that Katara had been ignoring us. She was in full view of Haru, a few feet away from us.

"Hello there, I'm Katara! Whats your name?" she asked.

Haru looked at her in surprise, before dropping his rock and running down the river bed, away from us. As he ran, he jumped into the air, bringing down rocks from either side of the river bed, blocking our path so we couldn't follow. I sighed before walking out to stand next to Katara.

"Nice to meet you!" Aang yelled after him.

"I just wanted to say hi." Katara said, disappointed.

"Don't worry Katara, he's probably just... shy." I said reassuringly. It was kind of hard, I couldn't really explain everything that had happened to Haru's village, and his father. They could find out later.

"Hey, that guy's gotta be running somewhere, maybe we're near a village and I bet that village has a market!" Aang said.

Katara was excited again, "Which means no nuts for dinner!"

"Yay!" I cheered.

We ran towards the village, leaving Sokka grumbling, "Hey! I worked hard to get those nuts!" I looked back and saw Momo fly after us. "Yeh, I hate'em too."

XxXx

We stood in quite a small village, in a small market. Aang was at a stall, trying out a hat. I turned my attention to Katara, and saw her watch Haru walk into his house.

"Hey!" She ran in after Haru, so _I_ ran after her.

I saw her open the door, and I stood at her side, deciding not to say anything yet. "Hey, you're that kid! Why did you run away before?"

"Uh, you must have me confused with someone else."

I noticed Aang and Sokka enter, "No she doesn't, we saw you earthbending." Aang said.

Haru and his mother both gasped. A second later, she shut the door and windows. "They saw you doing what?"

"They're crazy, mom, I mean, look at how they're dressed!"

I looked down at my clothes. They were earth nation his time, a deep emerald crop top and slightly darker baggy pants that were tight around my ankles. I was wearing a pair of mid-knee length brown boots. My hair was in a loose ponytail, and altogether I thought I looked okay. I also had wraps around my arms, which held several daggers in case I needed them. I noticed the other three also looking at their clothing.

"You know how dangerous that is! You know-" Haru's mother said. I stopped listening half way through the sentence. I had a bit of a headache, so I closed my eyes. I was shocked for a second. I could _feel_ the water in the room! I knew, even with my eyes closed, that next to Aang was a ¾'s full barrel of water, and that Katara's waterbending skin was half full too. Still concentrating, I tried to find out if I could see any more. I cast my thoughts to just outside the front door, but I didn't see any water, instead I felt-

_Fire! _It was so strange; it was like I could see a single flame, followed by a few others. The first flame was larger and hotter than the others. It grew brighter for a second, the heat spread outwards, and I saw in my mind a person's outline, it was a heavily built man! I thought back to the people in the room, and none of them had a flame inside of them, then it hit me.

The person must be a firebender!

"Guys!" I interrupted, "We got company!"

There was a heavy knock at the door from outside, and Sokka quickly parted the shutters to peer outside. "Open up!" I heard a soldier demand.

"Fire Nation! Act natural!" Sokka said.

Haru's mother opened the door and a soldier entered. I looked at the others and had to smother a laugh. Haru was standing with his hand on his chin, Sokka was looking like he was talking to an apple, Katara had stuffed her mouth with berries and was holding a bowl full of them, and Aang was leaning on a barrel. I just stood to the side of the door, looking at my nails. Then, the top of the barrel Aang was leaning against shifted, and his hand went into the barrel up to his shoulder. Again, I tried not to laugh.

"What do you want? I've already paid you this week." Haru's mother said

"The tax just doubled," the soldier said, he was wearing the traditional uniform, and looked like someone you wouldn't mess with, "Wouldn't want an accident, would we?" He created a fairly large flame in his hand, smiling cruelly. Everyone took a step back, everyone except me. There was no way I was giving him the satisfaction of scaring me! I glared at him, wondering if I could snuff his inner fire out somehow.

"Fire is sometimes so hard to control." He continued. He let the fire die and looked at Haru's mother. Her face changed from one of defiance to fear, and then to resignation. She walked over to the table and brought out a small chest.

"Wait." I couldn't not do anything any longer. They all looked at me, my friends, Haru and his mother a little shocked, the soldiers just looked angry. I took a deep breath, I didn't want to fight. "Here, let me pay." I said, taking out the purse Yue had given me. It was filled to the top with gold and silver coins. Unlike the others, I had kept my personal belongings with me, including my bag and broadswords. I handed the money to Haru's mother. She hesitated for a second, but I said with a smile, "It's okay, I don't mind"

She turned and gave the coins to the soldier, who turns and leaves. "Thank you." She said to me, with the first smile I had seen from her, even if it was a little sad.

"No problem."

"Nice guy. How long has the Fire Nation been here?" Sokka asked.

"Five years. Fire Lord Ozai uses our town's coal mines to fuel his ships." Haru's mom said.

"They're thugs; they steal from us, and everyone here is too much of a coward to do anything about it." Haru said angrily.

"Quiet, Haru. Don't talk like that." His mother scolded.

"But, Haru's an earthbender, he can help." Katara said, holding her hands out.

"Earthbending is forbidden. It's caused nothing but misery for this village. He must never use his abilities."

"How can you say that? Haru has a gift. Asking him not to earthbend is like asking me not to waterbend." Katara said disbelievingly, "It's a part of who we are."

"You don't understand."

"I understand that Haru can help you fight back. What can the Fire Nation do to you that they haven't done already?"

"They could take Haru away! Like they took his father." She replied sadly.

I looked at Katara and Haru, both looked pained and Katara's eyes had widened slightly, and I'm sure my own showed the sorrow I felt for Haru and his family.

XxXx

"My mom said you can sleep here tonight, but you should leave in the morning." Haru said.

The barn was quite large, big enough to fit Appa and the rest of us comfortably.

"Thanks. I'll make sure Appa doesn't eat all your hay." Said Aang. I looked over at Appa, and giggled. His mouth was stuffed full of hay, he stopped when Aang finished his sentence, and then went back to eating.

"Thanks, Haru." I said before setting my sleeping bag on the ground. It was a deep blue, like my water tribe dress. Yue had strapped it to my bag when I first came to this world. It was very comfortable, decorated with a fur lining and silver, decorative snowflakes.

I sat down on a nearby hay bale, and watched as Katara walked out, saying she was going for a walk.

"Have fun." I said, smiling knowingly. I knew that she was really going to have a heart-to-heart chat with Haru. She looked at me strangely before leaving quickly.

I turned my head away from the door, and over to the boys. Sokka had put his sleeping bag down too; I knew that Aang would just sleep on Appa. I was a little bored; it was too early to go to bed, but too late for exploring, but still too earlier for bed. I turned to Sokka, who was polishing his sword/club thing, which gave me an idea.

"Hey, Sokka!" he looked up at me, "Would you like to spar?"

"Um, sure?" he looked a bit confused, making me giggle. I grabbed his hand and my swords, and led him just outside. Aang followed us.

"Hey, can I join in?" he asked.

"Sure, in a sec." I gave Sokka time to lift his swub ((Sword/Club lols)). "Ready?"

"Yep." He charged at me, yelling a battle cry. I smirked and stepped to the left just in time, leaving y leg out so he tripped onto the floor. "C'mon Sokka, didn't you learn anything on Kyoshi?"

He stepped back up again, groaning a little. I decided it was time to use my swords a little. When he came at me again, a little more hesitant, I held my swords up. His swub clashed against them, and I bent my legs before pushing back up again, causing him to fly backwards.

"Go Kaida!" I heard Aang yell. I turned to him, smiling.

"Hey!" I heard Sokka say, getting up, "What about me?"

"But Kaida's winning!" Aang whined, making me smile even more. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sokka running at me again. I held my ground, pretending I couldn't see him, until the last second. I flipped backwards, narrowly avoiding Sokka, and landed behind Sokka. Sokka looked back in surprise before tripping over from the momentum, landing in a pile of hay. Appa walked over to him, and started eating the hay he was in. I laughed and offered my hand, grinning. He took it, although a little annoyed, and smiled lightly. I heard a clapping and looked around.

Aang was sitting on the roof of the barn, probably for a better view. I bowed to him, laughing, as he floated down using airbending. "That was great!" he said.

"Thanks, but it's your turn now." I replied, sliding into an opening stance.

"Okay!" he said happily, also sliding into a stance, but this time an airbending one. He shot a burst of air at me, which I swiftly dodged, followed by several more. I dropped my swords so I would be able to move easier, but kept several daggers handy in my arm wraps.

I threw a dagger at him, aiming for his sleeve, but he knocked it back towards me with a mini tornado. I snatched the dagger out of the air, sliding it back under the wrap. This reminded me a little of Mai, which I hated. I never liked Mai; she was just so cold and uncaring. I didn't really think her and Zuko made a good couple, I always liked the idea of Zutara, but then I thought Katara was more suited for Aang.

I stopped pondering on this, and focused my attention on Aang. He shot a few air slices at me, which I jumped over or ducked. "C'mon! Is that all you got?" I said teasingly.

"You asked for it!" He spun in a circle, pulling with him a large wave of air. I knew I couldn't dodge it, so I used it to propel myself over Aang, who didn't see me, due to the cloud of dust that rose with his bending. I landed silently behind him, sliding down into a crouch. He looked around in front of him, clearly confused, and asked, "Where is she?"

I pounced forward, throwing a few daggers at him. Two pinned his sleeves to the floor, and another two his pant legs. He went down with an "Aaah!"

I stepped out so he could see me and I said smugly, "I win."

"That was amazing!" I saw Sokka walking towards us, grinning. He was probably so happy because he wasn't the one to get beat up.

"Why thank you, good sir." I said, smiling, with a mock bow. I turned to Aang and helped him up. He looked a bit embarrassed but shook it off.

"Wow, you're pretty good." He said, looking up at me in admiration, "Hey, do you think you could take out the Fire Lord for me?" he looked at me hopefully.

I laughed, "Sorry Aang, but that's your destiny." He looked sad so I added, "but I could teach you a few things."

"Great! Thanks!" he gave me a quick surprise hug, which shocked me a bit, but I returned it after a second.

"Hey guys, it's getting kinda dark, I think we should head in." Sokka said. I looked up, and noticed that the sun had already set.

"Oh yeah! C'mon, let's go to bed." Aang said.

We went inside, and I was glad to get inside my warm sleeping bag. Sokka got into his on top of a hay bale, and Aang jumped onto Appa. I was almost asleep when I heard Katara come in and get in her sleeping bag.

"Hey, Katara." I said sleepily.

"Where were you?" Sokka asked.

"Well, I went out for a walk, and saw Haru," she began, "He told me about how his father and other earthbenders were captured by fire nation soldiers. Then we came across an old man, the mine had collapsed and he was trapped under it. I convinced Haru to use his earthbending to save the man."

"Wow." Aang said.

"It was so brave of Haru to use his earthbending to help that old man." Katara said.

"You must have really inspired him." Aang praised.

"I guess so." Katara said modestly.

"Everyone should get some sleep. We're leaving at dawn." Sokka said.

"Dawn? Can't we sleep in for once?" Katara said.

"Yeah! Please Sokka!" I said, though it was no use.

"Absolutely not! This village is crawling with Fire Nation troops. If they discover you're here, Aang, we'll be eating fireballs for breakfast. Good night."

"I'd rather eat fireballs than nuts." Katara said with a sly grin.

"Good night!" Katara, Aang and I laughed. I turned over when Katara blew out the light.

XxXx

I woke up again in the middle of the night. I wondered why, then remembered what was about to happen. I could feel the flames again; they were gathered around the front door of Haru's house. I wanted to jump up, go out there and help Haru, but I couldn't. If Haru didn't go to prison, Katara wouldn't, and the earthbenders would never be freed. So, I brought my knees up to my chest and tried to block out the sounds of Haru being captured.

It was quick, which I was thankful for. I lay back down and eventually fell into an uneasy sleep.

XxXx

Sokka, Aang and I were busy rolling up our sleeping bags, when Katara burst through the door.

"They took him! They took Haru away!" she said, pulling at her hair in anguish.

"What?" Aang said. We all stood up and walked towards Katara.

"The old man turned him in to the Fire Nation. It's all my fault, I forced him into earthbending." Katara said.

"Katara, it's not your fault." I said, but she just turned away.

"Slow down, Katara, when did this happen?" Sokka asked as he put his arm around her shoulder in comfort and held her hand.

"Haru's mother said they came for him at midnight."

Sokka dropped her hand and looked outside, "Then it's too late to track him, he's long gone."

"We don't need to track him. The Fire Nation is going to take me right to Haru."

"And... why would they do that?" Aang asked, confused.

"Because they're going to arrest me for earthbending." Katara said, determined. I smiled, _finally, something to do._

XxXx

"I thought you were crazy at first, Katara, but this might work. There are ventilation shafts throughout these mines, all Aang has to do is send an air current from that vent to this one right here. The boulder levitates and... tada! Fake earthbending."

We were standing on a large path going up around a mountain. I helped Katara and Sokka roll a boulder onto a ventilation shaft. Aang was hiding behind another, right next to another shaft where he wouldn't be seen.

"Aang? Did you get all that?"a none-too pleased Katara asked, hands on her hips.

I looked over at Aang. He was sitting on the floor cross-legged, playing with a butterfly. It was obvious he wasn't paying any attention.

"Sure, I got it."

"Do you remember your cue?" Sokka asked.

"Yeh, yeh, just relax. You're taking all the fun out of this."

"By this do you mean intentionally getting captured by an army of ruthless firebenders?" Sokka asked sceptically.

"Exactly! That's fun stuff." I laughed.

"So what should I do?" I asked.

"Just stay with Aang," Sokka said, "And make sure he remembers his cue." He whispered.

"Will do." I said with a smile.

XxXx

Aang and I were behind the rock, watching Katara and Sokka standing in the middle of the path. I felt the fire of three fire nation soldiers coming, "Guys, get ready!" I whispered loudly to the others. Katara and Sokka nodded, and Aang got in place.

Sokka ran in from the left, Katara from the right, meeting right in front of the soldiers. They banged into each other with an "Ugh!"

Sokka said in a slightly exaggerated voice, "Get out of my way, pipsqueak!"

Katara also used a slightly exaggerated voice, "How dare you call me pipsqueak you giant-eared cretin!"

"What did you call me?"

"A giant-eared cretin! Look at those things." She put her hands up to her ears and fanned out her fingers in imitation of huge ears, "Do herds of animals use them for shade?" I giggled quietly.

"You better back off!" He placed his hand to partially block his mouth from the soldiers view, "Seriously, back off."

"I will not back off! I bet elephants get together and make fun of how large your ears are!"

"That's it you're going down!"

"I'll show you who's boss, earthbending style!"

Katara assumed a mock earthbending stance as she shouts her challenge. Katara then stands frozen, with the rock she is supposed to be earthbending still sitting over the grate. After a few moments of embarrassed silence, she repeated herself angrily. 

"Aang! That's your cue!" I whispered loudly to Aang.

"I said, earthbending style!" Katara repeated.

Aang finally reacted, jumping up into the air and coming down on the grate, he then airbended into the grate, causing the rock to levitate.

The soldier pointed just under the rock, "That lemur! It's earthbending!" _What? _

I looked around the corner to see Momo standing under the rock, hands up, looking like he was making the rock levitate. I giggled again.

"No, you idiot! It's the girl!" Sokka said.

The soldier looked embarrassed, "Oh, of course."

Sokka, in an exaggerated voice, his hands on Katara's shoulders, said "I'll hold her!" he said something else, but I couldn't hear.

I watched Katara being led off by the soldiers. It made me feel like I was betraying her, but I had to focus on the mission. Sokka turned to Momo.

"Momo, you have some big ears!" I laughed lightly, not really into it. Sokka put his hand on my shoulder.

"She'll be okay." He reassured.

"I know." I sighed.

XxXx

It was almost night time, and we were still keeping our distance from the ship. None of us had said a word. That is, until then.

"So, Kaida, um, what's your family like?" Sokka asked me. I sat across from him in the saddle, but his voice made me jump slightly.

"Oh, you wanna know about my family?" I asked, surprised. _Where did that come from?_

"Yeah, if that's okay." He pretty nervous, so I smiled.

"My family isn't very interesting, and I was never very close to any of them, not like you are with your dad or Aang with Monk Gyatso." Both of them looked surprised when I said this, but I continued when they didn't say anything, "My mum and dad split up when I was eight, and I haven't seen my dad since then. My mum never really liked me, and I think she blamed me partially for my dad leaving. My sister is ten, five years younger than me, and always tried to make life rough for me, she hated me."

"Oh. Um, sorry for asking?" Sokka said.

I laughed lightly. "No, it's okay. I know a lot about you guys, it's only fair you know about me."

Sokka smiled, "Okay. Then, if you don't mind me asking, how did you get here? I remember you saying you came from another world." He looked down.

"Yeah!" Aang said, "Didn't you say something about a spirit?"

"Well," I began, "In my old world, I always used to wish I could go to your world, to go here. And, eventually, it seems someone heard me. She told me that, if I really want, my wish would be granted. The next thing I knew, I was with you guys on Appa."

"Wow. Cool!" Aang said.

"'She'?" Sokka asked.

I thought for a second. I couldn't tell them yet, they still needed to meet her! Luckily, just at that moment, Aang spoke.

"Guys, we're here!"

I looked around and, sure enough, I saw that we were getting closer to the ship. When we got to the side, Aang jumped onto the ship, leaving Sokka and I on Appa. We stayed low at the side, watching and waiting for Katara and Aang.

After a few minutes I saw them coming to the edge.

"Your 12 hours are up, where's Haru? We've got to get out of here." Sokka said.

Aang hopped off the platform onto Appa, and Sokka held his arms out for Katara.

"I can't." She said.

"We don't have much time, there are guards everywhere. Get on."

"Katara, what's wrong?" Aang asked.

I looked past Katara and saw the lighthouse lamp right behind her.

"I'm not leaving." She said, closing her eyes. Aang and Sokka exchanged looks.

"I'm not giving up on these people."

Aang, Sokka and I jumped onto the platform, crouching down next to Katara.

"What do you mean you're not leaving!" Sokka exclaimed.

"We can't abandon these people. There has to be a way to help them." Katara said.

"Bu-"

"Katara's right," I interrupted, "We have to help them somehow." I already knew how to, but it would be easier for the others to figure out

"What do you say, Sokka?" Aang asked.

"I say you're all crazy!" A searchlight comes close by, so we all hunker down until it passed. "Last chance, we need to leave now!"

"No." Katara said.

Sokka shook his head, "I hate when you get like this." Another search light came close by, man these people were stupid, I mean, they couldn't see four kids and a huge flying Bison?

"Come on, we better hide."

I followed Katara and Sokka, waiting briefly for Aang as he told Appa to fly away.

We ran away, to the other side of the deck, and hid behind a load of crates. I crouched down beside the others.

"We don't have much time. What are we gonna do?" Sokka asked.

"I wish I knew how to make a hurricane." Katara and Sokka looked unhappy at the idea, I just rolled my eyes, "The Warden would run away and we'd steal his keys!"

"Wouldn't he just take his keys with him?" Sokka said.

"I'm just tossing ideas around." Aang defended.

"I tired talking the earthbenders into fighting back, but it didn't work. If there was just a way to help them help themselves." Katara said.

I decided to give them a little push in the right direction, "Guys, they're _earth_benders. For earthbenders to fight you need...?"

"... some kind of earth, or some rock something they can bend." _Thank you,Ssokka!_

"But this entire place is made of metal." Katara said.

Aang looked up and pointed, "No, it's not. Look at the smoke. I bet they're burning coal, in other words, earth." _Finally._

XxXx

Sokka, Katara and I were in the prisoner deck area, where Katara gave her speech in this episode. We were looking down into an enormous ventilation shaft which was capped by a grate similar to the ones we had seen earlier near the mine where Katara got arrested.

"It's almost dawn; we're running out of time! Are you sure this is gonna work?" Katara asked.

"It should. These vents reminded me of our little trick back at the village. We're gonna do the same thing, but on a much bigger scale." Sokka said.

"There's a huge deposit of coal at the base of the silo, and the whole system is ventilated. Aang closed off all the vents except one. When he does his airbending, the coal only has one place to go, right back here."

_Sokka acts so stupid and goofy for most of the series, _I thought, _but he's actually pretty smart._

It was now morning, and I, once again, felt the five fires surrounding us, with a few more behind.

"There's the intruder!" I heard a soldier shout.

Sokka drew his boomerang and I unsheathed my broadswords and opened my water skin, ready to fight.

"Katara stop! You can't win this fight!" Tyro, Haru's father, begged.

"Listen to him well, child. You're one mistake away from dying where you stand." I span around to see the warden. I glared at him, before smirking. I could take him, easy.

The guards began closing, and I prepared to fight. Then there was a _Whoosh_ing sound. We backed away from the grate as a river of coal shot out. A few of the guards had fallen back in surprise, but I just stood there, confident.

Aang and Momo jumped out, Aang covered in soot. I watched as Katara ran up to the top of the coal.

"Here's your chance, earthbenders!" she grabbed a lump of coal and raised it high, "Take it! Your fate is in your own hands!"

I saw Haru try to move forward, but Tyro stopped him. I watched sadly as various earthbenders shrunk back or stepped away.

"Hahaha! Foolish girl!" the warden said, I seriously couldn't wait to hurt him. His fire was large and even _felt _cruel! I wished I could get rid of it-

_I wonder..._

"You thought a few inspirational words and some coal would change these people?" he continued, " Look at these blank, hopeless faces. Their spirits were broken a long time ago. Oh? But you still believe in them?" Katara lowered the coal, and I could see the shock on her face, "How sweet. They're a waste of your energy, little girl. You've failed."

The warden turned and began to walk away. I wanted so much to attack him at that moment, but held back. It was Haru's turn. I smirked when I saw a small piece of coal fly through the air and hit the warden on the back of his head. He turned around in anger, to see Haru standing there, twirling three pieces of coal above his hand. The warden threw a fire blast at him, but as it's about to engulf Haru, it is blocked by a wall of coal. Tyro stood next to him in an earthbending stance, clearly the one who saved Haru.

The Warden and his men stood in a firing line, "Show no mercy!" the warden said.

_Oh, I won't._

The firebenders rushed forward, launching flames from their fists. I stood back, it was time for the earthbenders to get their hands dirty. The ones near the front pulled the coal round to create a wall, and then pushed it forward, at the firebenders. The coal pelted them, and they used firebending to defend themselves.

After that it was chaos, but the earthbenders were obviously winning. As a firebender came at me, I took out my swords, hoping my inexperience wouldn't hinder me too much. When a fire blast came, I flipped over it; with another I used my swords to deflect it. I charged forward, then, before the soldier could react, I flipped over him, then hit him in the back of the neck, knocking him unconscious.

I decided that I would be able to take out more soldiers if I used my element so, when I was by five men, I took a waterbending stance. Using my arms, I lifted up two streams of water from the ocean. I enjoyed the look of shock on the soldier's faces. I moved it down in a large water whip, extinguishing any fire blasts that came my way, and knocked the soldiers overboard.

Still smirking, I turned and saw Tyro and Haru blast the prison door open with pressurized coal. Then I saw something that didn't happen in the episode. Katara was battling the warden. She didn't have time to get any water, and he was about to hit her with a powerful flame.

_I have to do something! _I thought, _I need to get rid of that flame! I can't extinguish it with water from here-_

_Extinguish!_

I remembered thinking about if I could extinguish the flame inside a firebender, and now was a perfect chance to find out. I stepped forward, hand outstretched, just as the warden shot his fist forward at Katara's heart. I concentrated all my might on the flame inside him. Closing my fist, I felt the flame extinguish.

Katara POV

I panicked. I was against the warden and I had no water. I looked around, but I couldn't find anything. I saw Kaida water whip five men off the ship, and then I turned to the warden.

"You're mine now." He said. He brought his hand back, ready to punch fire into my heart. I couldn't move, I was so scared.

_No,no,no! I can't die like this! I can't leave them! Dad, Sokka, Kaida, Aang...Mom. Please help me._

I looked at his fist, and saw the flame begin. I closed my eyes.

_Goodbye._

I opened them again when I felt no burning. I was shocked to see that the flame had gone out, and by the wardens face I could see he was just as shocked. He punched again, but nothing happened.

I looked around, and my eyes fell on Kaida. She had her fist outstretched, towards the warden, who was still trying the bend.

"Kaida?" I asked.

She looked at me, her eyes showing how hard she was trying to do something, and beads of sweat had appeared on her forehead. Suddenly, she let out a sigh, and crumpled to the ground.

"Kaida!" I shouted, worried. I ran to her side and was glad to find her okay, just unconscious. I looked up for help, and saw the warden walking towards us. I knelt in front of Kaida protectively, she was like a sister to me, and saw the warden firebend. Then it clicked.

When Kaida's hand was outstretched, he couldn't bend, then, when she collapsed, he could.

_Kaida stopped him. She saved my life._

I was shocked. How on earth did she do it? I looked back at the warden, still trying to protect Kaida.

"This time, there's no one to save you." He said viciously, but there was confusion in his voice, too. He clearly didn't understand what Kaida did any more than me.

He was about to launch a fire blast at me again when he was knocked back by a wall of coal. I turned to see Tyro still in an earthbending stance, smiling at me.

I looked around. Most of the benders had escaped and only a few remained. I turned and saw Aang shooting coal through a mini tornado at the warden and a few soldiers, knocking them the ground. The earthbenders then gathered up the coal underneath the warden and, lifting them in the air, held them over the water.

I looked away when I heard a splash and turned my attention to Kaida. She was still unconscious, which worried me a bit.

"Katara! Whats wrong-" Sokka stopped when he saw Kaida. Aang also came over and asked what was wrong.

"I don't know!" I said, worried, "I think she's just unconscious."

"Why?" Aang asked.

"I'll explain later!"

Sokka picked Kaida up bridal style, and took her back to Appa. I stood there for a second hoping she was okay.

_Thank you._

Kaida POV

I felt the flame extinguish, and immediately I was exhausted, but I wouldn't give up. I had to save Katara. When I saw it had worked, I still kept the fire from relighting. I looked over at Katara, to see that she was fine.

Our eyes met and I sighed in relief. Katara was like a sister to me. Finally I let myself surrender to exhaustion, and collapsed.

I heard a "Kaida!" before I blacked out.


	9. Chapter 9

**Thank you so much for reviews and for reading my story.**

**Please R&R! I've had sooo many views but only 9 reviews! !**

**Oh, btw, sorry about any spelling mistakes or grammar mistakes too!**

**Also, it may seem weird how Kaida's opinion of Zuko changed so quickly, but he's chasing her and her friends, trying to kill or imprison them, so she's not too happy with him, you could say.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own A:TLA**

Dragons and Spirits

Kaida POV

_Ugh, my head. _I thought. I was starting to wake up, after sleeping for what felt like forever. I tried to remember what had happened. All I could see was Katara and... fire?

_Oh, yeah. _I remembered the fight at the prison, and then the warden. He was trying to hurt Katara.

"Katara!" I said, sitting up quickly, making my head even more.

"Guys, she's up." I heard someone say. _Sokka? _I wasn't sure, I was too busy trying to make out where we were. I could tell we were on Appa, but my view was a bit fuzzy. I saw something blue come towards me, and as my view cleared I could see Katara.

"Katara! Are you okay?" I asked concerned.

She laughed lightly, confusing me, before her face turned worried, "Am _I _okay? What about you!" she hugged me suddenly, pulling me up into a sitting position, "You saved my life!"

Then it came back to me. The warden, about to kill Katara, and I, before he could, extinguishing his flame, stopping him from firebending. Then, I remembered fainting from exhaustion.

I leant my back against the side of the saddle, wondering how I did it. I had never seen anyone on Avatar doing anything similar, it was just so confusing.

I stopped wondering when I felt a hand on my arm. I looked up to see Sokka. I was about to say something, maybe to ask him what happened after I fainted, when he hugged me.

"Thank you so much," I heard him say, his head on my shoulder, "Without you Katara would be dead. You protected her when I couldn't." He pulled back and smiled at me. I smiled too.

I was a little embarrassed, I didn't think I deserved this much gratitude. "It was no problem." I said, smiling at him and Katara, "I couldn't just stand by and do nothing. Anyway, that warden was getting on my nerves."

Sokka and Katara grinned, and so did I.

"So," Katara began, "How did you do it?"

"Do what?" I asked, even though I knew what she meant. I just didn't know how to explain it.

"Stop the warden from Firebending?" The other two turned to look at me, curiosity clear on their faces.

"Oh," I began, "It's hard to explain, and it's a long story."

They looked at me confused, before Aang spoke, happily, "It's okay, we got time. Start at the beginning."

"Okay, well, when we were at Haru's house, I closed my eyes. I realized I could feel the water in the room," Katara nodded in understanding, she obviously had that feeling too, "I decided to see if I could feel any outside the house. But when I did, instead of water, I felt fire." They looked a little shocked at this. "I felt it get brighter, and it outlined a man, the firebender soldier who came to the house."

"So _thats _how you knew they were coming!" Sokka exclaimed, I smiled when Katara shushed him.

"Later, when we were on the ship, I was angry at the warden. I could somehow feel that even his flame was cruel, and I wished I could extinguish it. Then, when he was about to ki-," I paused, I didn't really want to say kill, "to hurt Katara, I tried it. Concentrating hard on his fire, I closed my fist, extinguishing it, but only for a few seconds. When I saw that Katara was okay, I let it relight, and collapsed. It was extremely exhausting." I looked at their faces, even more shocked than before. I could see them trying to figure it out, but even I couldn't explain it.

"This sounds a lot like something firebender-y." Sokka said, looking a little suspicious.

"Well, I'm definitely not a firebender, I'm a waterbender!" I defended. "Besides, have you ever heard of a firebender doing that?"

"No! I didn't mean it like that!" Sokka apologised, "And I haven't heard of a firebender doing that, no type of bender can, as far as I know."

"Which isn't much." Katara joked, "I haven't heard of a waterbender doing that either."

"That's great!" Aang grinned, "You're just special, like me!"

I grinned back at him. Aang was such a little kid sometimes.

I looked around, wondering where we were going. I noticed my broadswords and bag on the saddle, and was relieved to see they hadn't got left behind. _Left behind._

I looked at Katara and saw that her necklace was gone, Zuko probably already had it. I felt sorry for her; that necklace was the only thing she had left of her mother.

_At least she will get her necklace back soon, _I thought, _only a couple of episodes._

I decided to brighten up, and walked over to Katara's side, watching the cloud below.

"Those clouds look so soft, don't they? Like you could just jump down and you'd land in a big, soft cottony heap." Katara said. I smiled, they did look very comfy.

"Maybe you should give it a try." Sokka said.

"You're hilarious." Katara said, sarcastically.

"I'll try it!" Aang said, jumping up and over the side. "Yeahhhh!"

We all peered over the edge, watching him fall through a layer of clouds. A few seconds later, he appeared behind us, soaking wet.

"Turns out clouds are made of water!" He said, before airbending himself , Sokka and I looked at him strangely.

"Hey, what is that?" Katara asked, looking ahead.

I looked too. Below us was a valley, with a river in the middle. On one side was a deep, green forest, but on the left, the forest had been burnt to the ground. It was black and jagged, like a scar.

"It's like a scar." I whispered.

We landed in a small clearing, surrounded by burnt trees.

"Listen, it's so quiet. There's no life anywhere." Sokka said. It was quiet, and I couldn't see any life, not even a bird or insect.

"Aang, are you ok?" Katara asked. I looked at him as I stood beside Katara.

I looked to my left and saw Sokka inspecting some footprints. "Fire Nation! Those evil savages make me sick! They have no respect for-"

"Shh!" Katara interrupted his rant.

"What?" Sokka whispered, "I'm not allowed to be angry?"

Katara pointed ahead at Aang. He was slumped over, clearly upset. He sank down into the dust and sighed.

"Why would anyone do this? How could I let this happen?"

"Aang, it's not your fault." I said.

"Aang, you didn't let this happen. It has nothing to do with you." Katara said.

"Yes it does. It's the Avatar's job to protect nature. But, I don't know how to do my job."

"That's why we're going to the North Pole to find you a teacher." Katara said.

"Yeh, a waterbending teacher, but there's no one who can teach me how to be the Avatar. Monk Gyatso said that Avatar Roku would help me."

"The Avatar before you? He died over a hundred years ago, how are you supposed to talk to him?" Sokka asked.

"I don't know." Momo ran over to Aang and sat in his lap, trying to comfort Aang.

I sighed and looked at the ground, where I noticed something in the ash. I bent down and picked it up. It was an acorn. I nudged Katara, who was still next to me, and handed her the acorn. She looked at me quizzically before catching on. "Go cheer him up." I mouthed. Katara nodded.

"Hey Aang, are you ready to be cheered up?"

"No."

She threw the acorn I had picked up at his head, causing me to giggle lightly.

"Ow!"

I looked at Katara, who was bouncing another acorn up and down in her right hand. I also grabbed a couple off the floor, and got ready to throw one.

"Hey, how was that cheering me up?" Aang asked.

"Hehe, cheered me up." Sokka laughed. I promptly threw the acorn, whacking Sokka in the side of his head.

"Ow! Yeh, I probably deserved that."

Katara looked at Aang, "These acorns are everywhere, Aang. That means the forest will grow back. Every one of these will be a tall oak tree someday, and all the birds and animals that lived here will come back."

I looked over at Momo and saw him digging for acorns. He emerged with a handful of them. I saw Katara walk over to Aang and place an acorn in his palm. I put my own acorn in my bag.

"Thanks, Katara." I was glad to see Aang smiling again.

Katara gasped and looked over my shoulder. I turned quickly, ready to fight, when I saw it was an old man in green, I relaxed. He was using a walking stick, and went up to Aang.

"Hey, who are you?" Sokka asked.

The old man ignored him, "When I saw the flying bison, I thought it was impossible, but those markings... are you the Avatar child?"

Aang turned to Katara, then to me. We both nodded our heads. He then turned back to the old man and nodded his head.

"My village desperately needs your help."

XxXx

Later that afternoon, we arrived at an Earth Kingdom village. A few of the buildings were burnt out or destroyed. We entered a large building at the back of the small village, and the old man introduced Aang.

"This young person is the Avatar." He said.

The cheif came forward, "So the rumors of your return are true." He bowed, "It is the greatest honor of a lifetime to be in your presence."

Aang also bowed, "Nice to meet you too." He paused, " So...is there something I can help you with?"

The chief looked away with a pained expression on his face, " I'm... not sure"

"Our village is in crisis, he's our only hope. For the last few days at sunset a spirit monster comes and attacks our village. He is Hei-Bai, the black and white spirit." The old man said.

"Why is it attacking you?" asked Sokka.

The chief moved towards the doorway, looking at the setting sun, "We do not know, but each of the last three nights he has abducted one of our own. We are especially fearful because the winter solstice draws near."

"What happens then?" Katara asked.

"As the solstice approaches, the natural world and the spirit world grow closer and closer until the line between them is blurred completely." The old man answered.

"Hei-Bai is already causing devastation and destruction. Once the solstice is here there is no telling what will happen." The chief said.

"So, what do you want me to do exactly?"

"Who better to resolve a crisis between our world and the spirit world than the Avatar himself? You are the great bridge between man and spirits." The old man said.

Aang was clearly lacking confidence, "Right..That's me."

"Hey, great bridge guy', can I talk to you over here for a second?" Katara said quietly.

She walked over to the window. Aang and I followed her, with Sokka a little further behind. We were able to talk privately, which was a relief.

" Aang, you seem a little unsure about all this." Katara said.

"Yeh, that might be because I don't know anything at all about the spirit world. It's not like there's someone to teach me this stuff!" he said, experated.

"So, can you help these people?"

"I have to try, don't I? Maybe whatever I have to do will just... come to me."

Momo jumped onto Aang's shoulder and chattered. Aang looked surprised at first, but then smiled.

"Don't worry Aang, I'm sure you can do it. Anyway, we'll be there for you." I said, smiling.

I looked over at Sokka, and saw him smiling serenely.

"Yehhh, we're all gonna get eaten by a spirit monster." He said.

XxXx

The sun had nearly set, and Aang had just walked outside. He began to walk through the village, hands defensively wrapped around his staff.

"Hello? Spirit, can you hear me? This is the Avatar speaking. I'm... here to try to help stuff."

"his isn't right. We can't sit here and cower while Aang waits for some monster to show up." Sokka said as he watched by the window.

"I know, but we have to let Aang do this." I said. I didn't like it any better than he did, but I tried to tune it out, sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall. I closed my eyes and tried to sleep, but Sokk and the others kept interrupting my thoughts.

"If anyone can save us, he can." The old man said.

"He still shouldn't have to face this alone." Sokka said unhappily.

I kept my eyes shut as I heard Hei-Bei arrive, and Aang try to talk to him. I listened as the spirit attacked the village, whilst Aang tried in vain to stop him. I tried to ignore the sounds, and instead focused on the outcome.

Sokka again interrupted my thoughts, "That's it! He needs help!" I heard him come by me, "Kaida are you coming?" I looked up at him and shook my head. Aang _needed_ to do this alone.

"WHAT! Aang NEEDS us!" he shouted. I looked into his eyes and tried to show him I was sorry. But his remained angry, "Fine! You just stay here like a...like a... like a COWARD!" he turned on his heel and ran out to Aang. My eyes filled with tears and I closed my eyes, trying to hide them.

But, one slipped out anyway.

XxXx

Aang didn't return the next day, like I knew he wouldn't. I was worried about Sokka, even though the words he said last night hurt. Katara hadn't spoken a word to me since last night.

I sighed. I was lying in a field just outside the village, looking at the sky. I felt more alone than I had since I went to the Avatar world. Katara had just left to look for Aang, and the villagers mostly stayed inside the large building. Judging by the time, Aang would probably be in Roku's Temple by now, being told about the comet. I concentrated on that, thinking about how he would be taken there by Roku's dragon.

And how Sokka was still in the Spirit world.

To take my mind off it, I thought about what Zuko and Iroh were doing. With a slight jolt I remembered Iroh will have been captured by the earthbenders. In my mind, I watched the episode. Iroh getting kidnapped in the hot spring, Zuko discovering he was captured by earthbenders, the earthbenders and Iroh riding on ostrich-horses with Zuko following them. I smiled a little when I remembered Zuko finding Iroh's smelly sandal.

My smile widened when I thought of how he kept the sandal at least until the end of season three, when he used it to find Iroh, again.

I sighed again and got up, seeing the sun getting lower in the sky. I made my way back slowly, then faster when I remembered what was about to happen.

I jogged in just in time to see Katara hug Aang. I smiled a little and made my way over to them. I heard Katara ask, "Where's Sokka?" which made me lose my smile.

I saw Aang lower his head, "I'm not sure."

"Aang," I breathed, "Please, don't worry."

Katara turned and glared at me, "Oh yeah, just like you don't ever worry! Sokka asked you to help him! And you didn't even move!" she came closer and looked like she was going to slap me. I closed my eyes and another tear slipped through.

"I'm sorry." I whispered brokenly.

I opened my eyes eventually when I didn't feel the blow. Katara saw my tears, and my eyes showed how I felt, the remorse painted on my face.

Her eyes filled with a few tears as well. Suddenly, she hugged me. It was so unexpected that I gasped lightly.

"I'm so sorry Kaida." She whispered, the voice showing her pain, "I didn't mean it, I know you care about him. It's just; I'm so worried about him. And I go and shout at you, the person who saved my life! I know-"

"Katara, shh, it's okay." I reassured, "He's going to be fine, I promise."

"Okay," she pulled away, wiping her eyes. I smiled down at her, I was a few inches taller than her, but not as tall as Zuko.

"Guys, the sun's setting!" Aang said. Katara and I made our way back to the building, and went inside. We stood just inside the doorway, watching Aang at the gates. After waiting for a few minutes, he turned and began to walk back to us.

I jumped when the building on Aang's left exploded outwards, the creature bursting out of it. Aang yelled and created an air shield around him.

"Aang! What are you doing? Run!" Katara yelled.

"Aang! Run!" I yelled too.

The creature roared and ran toward another building, but Aang ran underneath its legs and then jumped up onto its forehead. His hand glowed light blue, then he jumped onto the porch of a nearby building.

"You're the spirit of this forest. Now I understand. You're upset and angry because your home was burned down. When I saw the forest had burned I was sad and upset. But my friend gave me hope that the forest would grow back." Aang said.

Surprisingly, the spirit stood still whilst Aang spoke. When he finished, he showed Hei-Bai the acorn that Katara gave him. The spirit smiled and Aang placed the acorn on the porch. The monster picked up the acorn and transformed into a panda, which turned and walked away from the village. As the Panda excited, a thicket of bamboo grew to a man's height in seconds. A moment later, Sokka and a few villagers exited the thicket looking confused.

"Sokka!" Katara shouted and ran to hug him. I followed a bit slower, remembering what Sokka had said to me.

"What happened?" Sokka asked.

"You were trapped in the spirit world for 24 hours." Katara answered, "How are you feeling?"

Sokka looked pained for a second, and that worried me again, "Like I seriously need to use the bathroom!"

I smiled slightly as he ran off, rather awkwardly, to the bathroom. After the village greeted the people who had been in the spirit world with Sokka, they gathered in front of us. I stood next to Aang, on the opposite end to Sokka. I noticed him glance at me a few times, but I kept quiet. I didn't want him to shout at me again.

"Thank you, Avatar. If there only were a way to repay you for what you've done." The chief said.

"You could give us some supplies and some money." Sokka said, rather rudely.

Katara elbowed him, "Sokka!" she said, angrily.

"What? We need stuff."

"It would be an honour to help you prepare for your journey." The chief bowed and exited.

"I'm so proud of you, Aang. You figured out what to do all on your own." Katara put her hand on Aang's shoulder.

"Yeah, you did a great job." I added, fake smiling.

"Actually, I did have a little help. And there's something else." He looked sadly at the ground, and I realized he was thinking of the comet.

"What is it?" Sokka asked.

"I need to talk to Roku and I think I've found a way to contact his spirit."

"That's great!"Katara was excited.

"Creepy, but great." Sokka said.

"There's a temple on a crescent shaped island, and if I go there on the solstice I'll be able to speak with him."

"But, the solstice is tomorrow." Katara said.

"Yeh, and there's one more problem. The island is in the Fire Nation." Both looked shocked and scared, but my expression didn't change. I didn't say anything either, still worried about Sokka. I sighed, hoping we would be friends again soon.

XxXx

"Hey, Kaida," I looked around, shocked to see it was Sokka. We had gone back into the town hall, and I was sitting close to the door, leaning against the wall, again. Sokka hadn't spoken to me, but Katara and I were friends again. I liked Katara, she was kind and motherly like in the show, I even considered her a sister.

"Can I talk to you for a second?" Sokka asked. I looked up at him and nodded, signalling with my arm to sit. We were silent for a few minutes before he spoke.

"I'm sorry for what I said, I didn't mean it," he began, "You just didn't seem to care about what was happening, whilst Katara and I were worried sick."

"I was worried." I said. He looked at me, confused. "I just," I sighed, how could I explain I knew everything that was going to happen? "Look, this may sound really weird, but I knew he was going to be alright. It wasn't intuition or wishful thinking," I added at the look he gave me, "I can't explain it, but I knew everything would turn out like this."

"Prove it." He said. He didn't look smug or disbelieving, just curious.

I sighed, "Fine." I thought for a second, thinking about what I could say. "Future or past?"

"Um, one past, one future."

"Okay, when you discovered Aang, you were fishing. Katara waterbended a fish above your head, but you popped it with the end of your spear, soaking yourself. Then, you made muscles at yourself in the water." I smiled at his embarrassed but shocked face, "Then, you hit some strong currents or something, and had to dodge around the ice. The boat got crushed, and you and Katara jumped on a piece of ice. You guys were in front of an iceberg, and Katara got mad. She waterbended by accident, destroying the iceberg. There was a smaller, round iceberg inside. Katara broke it open with your sword club thing, and Aang fell out." I took a deep breath, enjoying the look on Sokka's face. It was one of pure shock, "He asked to go penguin sledding, and then introduced you to Appa. You didn't believe Appa could fly, and Appa sneezed on you."

He didn't say anything for a few seconds, before getting out, "F-Future?"

"Well," I thought for a second, "Aang is about to sneak out on Appa, to go to the fire nation island."

"What!" he jumped up, and I followed close behind. Glad that we were friends again, I smiled happily. "Katara! C'mon." Katara followed us, looking confused, as well as a few villagers.

We went outside and down the village street, before hearing Aang, "So get your big butt off the ground and let's go!"

Still smiling, we got closer until we were behind Appa.

"I think his big butt is trying to tell you something." Sokka said.

Aang looked shocked and looked at us from the ground. "Please don't go, Aang. The world can't afford to lose you to the Fire Nation. Neither can I." Katara said sadly. _Awww, young love. Totally a Kataang moment._

Aang frowned, remembering the comet, I knew. He stood up and said, "But I have to talk to Avatar Roku to find out what my vision means. I need to get to the Fire Temple before the sun sets on the Solstice. That's today."

He airbended onto Appa, looking back at us sadly. Katara, Sokka and I ran forward, into Appa's path.

"We're not letting you go into the Fire Nation, Aang." Katara said.

"At least not without your friends. We got your back." Sokka said smiling.

"You really think you can get rid of us that easily?" I asked, smiling.

Appa licked Sokka, lifting him off the ground.

"Ewwww!" Katara and I giggled at him.

The chief walked over to Appa's side, "It's a long journey to the Crescent Island." He handed Aang a parcel, "You'll have to fly fast to have any chance of making it before sundown. Good luck."

"Thank you, for your-" Aang began. When the chief was speaking, Katara, Sokka and I had pulled ourselves onto Appa.

"Go!" the chief said, and Appa took off quickly. I clutched onto the rail so I wouldn't fall off. I looked sadly at the village; soon Zuko and his crew would be here, terrorizing them.

"Kaida?" I turned and saw Sokka sitting next to me.

"Yeah?" I asked, still sad about the village. He surprised me with a hug, much like Katara had.

"I'm sorry." He said.

"I'm sorry too." I replied, still hugging him.

We drew apart and he asked, "Friends?"

I smiled at him, "Of course, Sok."

We both grinned at eachother.

XxXx

I woke up the next day, just as the sun was rising. We were in the air, and almost at the blockade. Stretching, I sat up, before walking over to Katara. Both her and Sokka were looking over the edge of Appa's saddle. I looked at her face and could see she was worried.

"Come on, boy! We've got a long way to go! Faster!" Aang said to Appa.

Appa growled and sped forward, a little faster.

After a few seconds of just studying my three friends, trying to think of a way to reassure them, I gave up. There was nothing I could say. I took to looking over the side, and after a few minutes spotted a ship, "Zuko!"

"What?" Katara asked, and then saw what I was looking at, "Aang, we got trouble."

"Yeah, and it's gaining fast!" Sokka yelled.

I watched as they brought out a catapult, and set fire to the rock. "FIRE!" I heard Zuko yell.

"Fire ball!" Katara shouted.

"I'm on it!" Aang swerved, narrowly avoiding the fire ball.

"We have to get out of Zuko's range, before he shoots another hot stinker at us!" Katara said, covering her nose from the smell. And, man, did it sink! It smelled like a cross between the most rotten eggs and fresh manure! I laughed lightly at the faces the others were making.

"Can't you make Appa go any faster?" Sokka asked.

"Yeah, but there's just one little problem." Aang said.

"What?" I asked before looking ahead. I gasped at the blockade. It sure didn't look this big on the TV!

"If we fly north we can go around the Fire Nation ships and avoid the blockade. It's the only way." Aang said.

"There's no time!" Katara said.

"This is exactly why I didn't want you to come. It's too dangerous.."

"Which is exactly why we came." Katara said.

"Yeah, we're not leaving you Aang." I said.

"Let's run this blockade." Sokka said.

"Appa! Yip! Yip!" Appa shot forward with another burst of speed, away from Zuko's ship and towards the blockade.

When we got closer, I saw the first fire balls were lit. "Oh, crap."

They launched about fifty fire balls were launched towards us. We all screamed, even me, who never screams!

Appa managed to dodge the fireballs, amazingly. A few exploded in front of us, sending sparks at Appa's fur. Momo helped us put out the small flames. Appa flew upwards, above a layer of clouds, hoping they would help us. I gasped as more fire balls shot through the clouds. I needed some water! But my water skin wasn't enough, maybe-

_Wait! How could you forget! CLOUDS!_

I couldn't believe I had forgotten. "Guys! Stay down!" I called. Getting into a waterbending stance, I moved my arms, gathering the water. It was hard to hit the fire balls right out of the air, so I made a water shield instead underneath Appa. It worked for the most part, but I was getting a bit wobbly, because of Appa swerving every few seconds. "Katara! Help!" I shouted. She tried to, holding some of the water for me.

Then, two fire balls smashed in front of us. I, already unbalanced, fell from Appa's back as Appa spun.

I fell through the air, yelling in panic. But even in panic, I could create a plan. I leaned forwards, like I was sky-diving, and opened my arms wide. I brought up spirals of water around my body, like tentacles, slowing me down until I was just above the water.

I sighed in relief, then looked up, to see Zuko's ship. My blue eyes locked with gold. Zuko didn't look angry for once. His eyes held confusion, surprise and ... _awe? _

I was surprised, Zuko, at least in season one, never respected anyone, like the spoilt prince he was. Looking up, I saw Appa circling down towards me. Not wanting them to get too close to Zuko, I pressurized the water below me, I pushed down hard, shooting myself up in the air, making a sort of geyser.

I aimed so that I was above Appa, and as I came down, Aang sent some air under me, so I landed softly on Appa. I closed my eyes, tired, and leant against the rail.

"How did you do that?" Katara and Aang asked at the same time, Sokka just sat there, slightly breathless. I guessed they had caught him a moment ago, as he fell off at the same time as me.

"Instinct?" I said, copying Sokka's line from the 'Jet' episode. I almost fell asleep before I heard more fire balls coming towards us. I groaned and sat up, about to help, but Aang pushed me down again.

"I'll handle this." He said. Nodding, I lay back down again, and listened as Aang leaped forward and destroyed a large rock. I smiled but sat back up; we may be through the blockade, but we had a long way to go.

XxXx

Zuko POV

"Do not stop this ship." I said angrily. I was so close to the Avatar, and so close to home. This blockade would not stop me.

I looked up, watching the avatar fly through the cloud cover and growled. I will _not _let him get away from me!

I was startled for a second when I saw a figure fall through the clouds. It was one of the avatar's friends, dressed in deep, blue water tribe clothes. I watched in surprise as she opened her arms wide, lifting up large, spiralling streams of water. They wrapped around her waist and legs, slowing her down until she stopped just above the water. It looked so amazing and graceful.

From here I could see her blue-black hair, which was oddly familiar. I jumped slightly when she looked my way. Her sapphire blue eyes looked straight into mine. They looked beautiful, but tired, and she seemed a little shocked at her own strength. I'm sure mine reflected my own emotions.

She looked up, and I followed her gaze. _The Avatar! _She shocked me, yet again, when she shot upwards, landing on the avatar's bison's back. They flew forwards, faster than before, at the blockade.

I watched as the avatar destroyed a fire ball, and then flew over the blockade.

"We're on a collision course!" Uncle yelled.

"We can make it!" I said, determined.

The ships in the blockade stopped, letting us pass. I glared up a Zhao, as he glared back at me. _One day, he will get what he deserves._

XxXX

"We made it!" Aang shouted triumphantly, punching the air.

"We got into the Fire Nation..." Sokka said in pure disbelief. His shoulders dropped, " ...Great"

Both he and Katara had pure looks of shock and disbelief. I sniggered slightly, before leaning over the side, watching Zuko's ship pass through the blockade. From here I couldn't see any people, but I knew Zuko and Zhao would be glaring at each other at this moment.

I sighed and lay back, looking up at the clouds. Sokka sat next to me, also looking up at the sky. It soon got boring though.

I crawled over to my bag and grabbed my ipod. Scrolling through it, I tried to find a good song. I wanted something with a good beat, loves songs would be to slow at the moment. Finally I found something that would do; Disturbia, by Rhianna. I hummed along with the song, tapping y foot to the beat.

Looking around, I saw Katara looking at me. "What?"

"I was just wondering what that was." She said, pointing at the ipod. I'd forgotten I hadn't told her and Aang about it.

"Oh, this? This is an ipod." I said, motioning for her to come closer. She sat down hesitantly. "You put this in your ear," I said, passing her an earphone, "And you can her music. Listen."

I smiled when her eyes widened, just like Sokka's had.

"Wow." She said, and after a while, she began tapping her foot to the beat. I handed her the other earphone, and just watched her, amused, as she began moving from side to side in little movements along with the beat.

I liked it went Katara acted like a kid again. She had so much responsibility, caring for us like a mother would. But she was a sister to me, just like Sokka and Aang were my brothers.

When the sun went down, Katara finally handed me the ipod. "Thanks." She said, before getting her sleeping bag out and laying down to go to sleep. Sokka and I followed her example, then I looked at Aang.

"You okay out there Aang?" I asked; he'd been out there on Appa's head for hours.

"I'm fine." He said, with a yawn. I smiled and, putting away my sleeping bag, sat down next to him.

"You sure about that?" I asked with a small laugh when he started falling forwards on his face, half asleep. He shook his head, probably to wake himself up, and looked at me ruefully.

"Yeah, I guess I really need some sleep." He admitted.

"Here, I'll take Appa. You get some sleep, I'm sure I'll be fine." I said.

"You sure?"

"Of course. Appa will help me, won't you boy?" I patted his head and he growled happily.

"Okay, thanks Kaida." Aang made his way to the saddle, lying between Katara and Sokka, who were already asleep.

"No problamo." I shuffled across slightly, and grabbed the reigns, careful not to pull on them. "Mmm, this can't be too hard; it's the same direction all the time." I mumbled to Appa. He growled a yes in response.

I jumped in surprise when Momo landed on my shoulder, "You here to keep me company?" I asked, grinning at the little lemur. He chattered in response, and curled up like a cat in my lap. I stroked him absentmindedly whilst looking ahead.

Eventually I lay down, my head in my hands and Momo on my head. My eyes were closed, but I quickly sat up when Momo started jumping up and down. Looking ahead, I saw the island. It began as a large, red active volcano, the sides curving in a crescent moon shape.

"Guys! We're here!" I shouted to them as I guided Appa down. Sokka jumped up, startled at my shout, and Katara sat up next to him, before leaning over the rail at the front of the saddle. Aang landed beside me using airbending.

"There it is! The island Roku's dragon took me to!" Aang said, excited again.

We landed in a small clearing behind a sort of mini cliff of rock, to hide Appa when we went up to the temple.

"You did it buddy. Nice flying." Aang said, patting Appa lovingly. I joined in, stroking Appa.

"Yeah, great job Appa." I smiled when Appa groaned and rolled over onto his side in exhaustion. Katara, Aang and I rubbed his tummy.

"Aww! You must be tired!" Katara cooed.

Sokka, thinking Katara was talking to him, walked over to us, "No." He grunted and stretched, "I'm good." He began jogging in place and I giggled. Sokka's such an idiot. "Refreshed and ready to fight some firebenders."

"I was talking to Appa."

Sokka stopped, "Well, I was talking... to Kaida!" he said, pointing to me.

"No, you weren't." I said, smirking as he glared at me.

We started walking along the long bridge to the temple. Thankfully, it didn't take too long to get there.

We were crouching behind a small stone wall, just outside of the temple, "I don't see any guards." Sokka observed.

"Sokka, I think we've all noticed that by now, since we haven't been burned to ashes." I said, rolling my eyes. Sokka glared at me until I added, "Just kidding."

"The Fire Nation must have abandoned the temple when Avatar Roku died." Katara said.

"It's almost sundown. We'd better hurry." Aang said, leaping over the wall. Sokka, Katara, Momo and I followed. We ran inside just as the sun began to set. I looked around; the corridor was outlined with a flame, and everything was a shade of red.

We slowed down and stopped when Sokka said, "Wait...I think I heard something."

We span around and saw the fire sages. I could feel their flames, they were similar to the soldiers who came to Haru's mom's house, but not as cruel, especially the one on the end.

He looked familiar and then I remembered it was Shyu.

"We are the Fire Sages. Guardians of the temple of the Avatar." The leader said. I tensed, ready to run.

"Great! I am the Avatar." Aang said.

"We know." He said, before assuming a firebending stance and shot a fire ball at us. I stood back as Aang used his airbending to deflect them.

"I'll hold them off. Run!" Aang turned back to face the Fire Sages as Sokka, Katara and I ran down the corridor. I ran as fast as I could next to Sokka and Katara, worrying a little about Aang. Before too long he ran in front of us from a corridor to our left.

"Follow me!" he yelled before taking off.

"Do you know where you're going?" Sokka asked before following.

"Nope!" Aang said as he turned a corner. I stood still, waiting for him to turn back again. I didn't have to wait long.

"Wrong way!" he ran back towards us, a fire sage at his heels. I ran after them.

"Come back!" the fire sage called. I turned and saw it was Shyu.

"Guys wait!" I said, but they were too busy running to notice. Groaning, I ran after them. We turned another corner and came to a dead end. I stopped, panting a little, and stood by the others.

"I don't want to fight you. I am a friend." Shyu said.

I looked at the others, Aang had taken an airbending stance, and Sokka was throwing his hands up, saying, "Firebenders aren't our friends."

Shyu came carefully closer, and dropped to his knees and bowed, "I know why you're here, Avatar."

"You do?" Aang asked. He looked surprised, but I could see him relaxing.

"Yes."He stood up, "You wish to speak to Avatar Roku. I can take you to him."

"How?" Aang looked suspicious and Katara and Sokka quizzical. I smiled a little at them, hoping to reassure.

Shyu put his hand to the wall, and slid the lantern to the side, revealing a hole. He pushed a shot of fire into it, grunting slightly. The fire outlined a door, which fell back and slid to the right with a squeal. I came closer and saw it led to a stairway, with rock walls on either side.

"This way." Shyu said, motioning towards the doorway. I started to head towards it, but Sokka put a hand on my shoulder and held me back. I glared at him lightly and he let go. Eventually.

Suddenly a voice behind Shyu said, "Find them!" Shyu looked at us nervously.

"Time is running out. Quickly!" he urged. Aang nodded and Katara and Sokka finally followed. I walked next to Katara as Shyu sealed the door. We walked down the stairs and entered a tunnel of sorts. The floor was smooth and shiny, red in colour, and the sides were made of rock, with natural stone pillars.

"Avatar Roku once called this temple his home. He formed these secret passages out of the magma." Shyu said.

"Did you know Avatar Roku?" Aang asked.

"No. But my grandfather knew him. Many generations of Fire Sages guarded this temple long before me. We all have a strong spiritual connection to this place." Shyu answered.

"Is that how you knew I was coming?"

"A few weeks ago, an amazing thing occurred. The statue of Avatar Roku, its eyes...began to glow!"

"That's when we were at the Air Temple. Avatar Roku's eyes were glowing there too!" Katara said.

"At that moment, we knew you had returned to the world." Shyu said.

"If this is the Avatar's temple, why did the Sages attack me?" Aang asked.

Things have changed. In the past, the Sages were loyal only to the Avatar. When Roku died, the Sages eagerly awaited for the next Avatar to return. But he never came." Shyu said.

Aang paused and leaned against the tunnel wall, "They were waiting for me."

Sokka put his arm around Aang's shoulders, "Hey, don't feel bad. You're only a hundred years late." Aang glared at Sokka, and I punched Sokka in the arm.

"They lost hope the Avatar would ever return. When Fire Lord Sozen began the war, my grandfather and the other Sages were forced to follow him." He shook his head in dismay, "I never wanted to serve the Fire Lord. When I learned you were coming, I knew I would have to betray the other Sages."

"Thank you for helping me." Aang said, bowing slightly. Shyu smiled warmly at Aang, and we began climbing up steps in the tunnel. The stairs spiralled upwards, and when I looked down, I felt a little dizzy.

Shaking my head to clear it, I listened to Shyu, "We'll follow these stairs to the sanctuary. Once you're inside, wait for the light to hit Avatar Roku's statue. Only then will you be able to speak with him."

We finally came to a dead end, the stairs still going up in front of us. Shyu slid a trap door aside, and continued up the steps. I followed behind Katara, looking around in interest. The room curved around a large set of doors which had a golden flame on it. There were several pillars with stone dragons winding up them; our future hiding places.

"NO!" I turned back to look at Shyu, as he stood staring at the large doors.

"Shyu, what's wrong?" Aang asked as we got closer.

"The sanctuary doors, they're closed." Shyu said.

"Can't you just open them with firebending? Like you opened that other door?" Katara asked.

"No. Only a fully realized Avatar is powerful enough to open this door alone. Otherwise the Sages must open the doors together with five simultaneous fire blasts."

I looked at Sokka and saw him with his hand on his chin, deep in thought, "Five fire blasts, huh?" his face lit up and I smiled as I saw the lantern above his head, "I think I can help you out."

I watched as Sokka emptied the powder from the lantern into five bags, "This is a little trick I picked up from my father. I seal the lamp oil inside an animal skin casing, Shyu lights the oil soaked twine and tada! Fake firebending!"

"You've really outdone yourself this time, Sokka." Katara said.

"This might actually work." Shyu said. He looked surprised, but pleased.

Katara, Aang and I stood beside the pillars, waiting for Sokka. I forgot completely about what was going to happen, and just focussed on the present. It was easier that way.

"The Sages will hear the explosions, so as soon as they go off, you rush in." Shyu said. I laughed slightly as Sokka ran behind Katara, plugging his ears with his fingers.

Katara turned to Aang, "It's almost sunset. Are you ready?"

"Definitely." Aang nodded, confident. I saw Shyu light the bags, and ducked back behind my pillar. There was a "BANG!" and the room filled with smoke. I looked at the doors as Aang ran over. I sighed sadly as Aang tugged at the handles, "They're still locked."

"It didn't work." Shyu said, sighing in disappointment. Aang sank to the floor and I put a hand on his shoulder, comforting him.

Aang stood up again, after a few minutes, and walked back a couple of steps, before turning to face the door. "Why won't it open! Aargh!" He yelled angrily, hurling air blasts at it.

Katara grabbed his arm, "Aang, stop! There's nothing else we can do."

Aang hung his head, "I'm sorry I put you through all this for nothing."

"Aang, it wasn't for nothing, we had to come, even if there was just a small chance it would work." I said.

"I don't get it. That blast looked as strong as any firebending I've seen." Sokka said, confused.

"Sokka! You're a genius!" Katara exclaimed.

"Wait, how is Sokka genius? His plan didn't even work." Aang said.

"Come on Aang, let her dream." Sokka said, his arms crossed.

"You're right. Sokka's plan didn't work...but it looks like it did." Katara said.  
**"**Did the definition of genius change in the last hundred years?" Aang looked even more confused.

XxXx

Aang and I climbed the pillars, whilst Katara and Sokka hid a little further away. I balanced on the dragon winding around it, crouching down.

"Hurry! The Avatar has entered the sanctuary." Shyu led the other sages to the door.

"How did he get in?" the leader asked.

"I don't know. But look at the scorch marks and down there!" Shyu lied. I couldn't see them, but I knew they would be looking at 'Aang's' shadow, who was really Momo.

"He's inside. Open the doors immediately before he contacts Avatar Roku."

I watched Aang, on the pillar next to me, slide round, so he would be able to make a quick dash to the door. I went the other way, so that I was facing Sokka and Katara, ready to take down the other fire sages.

I heard them shoot the fire blasts, and a set of clangs and squeaks. Then, the one who had spoken earlier say, "It's the Avatar's lemur! He must have crawled through the pipes! We've been tricked!"

I jumped from my pillar, just in time to see the fire sage attacked by Momo. I sniggered, before taking out the sage with a jab to the neck knocking him unconscious. "Thanks for the help, Momo." I said.

I looked and saw that Katara and Sokka had the other two under control, and Shyu was keeping hold of another. "Now, Aang!" he said.

I turned expectantly to the pillar Aang had been by, but when he didn't come out, my eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Aang, now's your chance!" Katara yelled, but Aang didn't reply.

I gasped when Zuko walked out from behind the pillar, holding Aang's arms behind him, "The Avatar's coming with me!"

I moved forward, ready to fight him, and win, but I looked back. My eyes widened when I saw Katara and Sokka, overpowered by the sages, being chained to a pillar.

I moved to help them, but turned back when I heard Zuko say, "Close the doors! Quickly!" He was pushing Aang towards the exit, but as they neared the opening, Aang made several swift moves, then kicked Zuko down the stairs.

Then I sprang into action. Stepping forward, I kicked the legs out from under a sage trying to shoot at Aang, keeping him distracted whilst Aang ran towards the door. He tried to punch fire at me, but I was too agile, dodging in a series of flips and spins.

When the door shut, I surrendered, almost hitting Zuko when he grabbed my arms behind my back, and chained me to the pillar across from Katara and Sokka. He glared down at me, being a few inches taller, but I just smirked at him.

He turned, growling angrily, and proceeded to punch fire into the door with the four remaining fire sages. When it didn't work, he said angrily, "Why isn't it working? It's sealed shut!"

"It must have been the light. Avatar Roku doesn't want us inside." Said a Fire Sage.

I just closed my eyes, and imagined what Aang was doing on the other side. He would be talking to Roku about now, greeting him.

"Why did you help the Avatar?" Zuko said. My eyes snapped open and I saw Shyu, being forced to kneel before Zuko.

"Because it was once the Sages' duty. It is still our duty." Shyu said, from his heart, and I smiled a little. He sure was brave.

A slow clapping started, and I looked surprised, in the direction it had come from. Behind Zuko, a man I hated even more emerged.

"Zhao!" I said, quietly, but the sound was more like a hiss.

"What a moving and heartfelt performance. I'm certain the Fire Lord will understand when you explain why you betrayed him." Zhao said.

A fire sage bowed, "Commander Zhao.."

"And Prince Zuko, it was a noble effort. But your little smoke screen didn't work. Two traitors, in one day, the Fire Lord will be pleased."

A soldier came up from behind Zuko, and grabbed his arms, holding them behind his back, "You're too late, Zhao. The Avatar's inside and the doors are sealed." He said.

"No matter. Sooner or later, he has to come out." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Katara and Sokka exchange worried glances. But I turned back when I saw the soldier leading Zuko towards me. He tied him to the pillar, close enough that his arm brushed against mine.

"You've _got _to be kidding me!" I exclaimed, "You're chaining _him_ next to me! I knew you were evil, Monkey Man, but not that evil."

"_What_ did you just call me?" Zhao demanded, stalking towards me, raising his fist. I didn't move, not in the least scared.

"Well, you're Monkey Man, sometimes known as Monkey face. _Everyone _knows that!" I said, as if it was common knowledge. And where I came from, it was.

His face contorted in rage, and I tried to keep a straight face. "WHAT!" he yelled, his fist flaming.

I rolled my eyes, _wow, these people really do have short tempers._

"Oh, don't worry; you're not the only one with a nickname." I began. Zhao still looked like he wanted to kill me, but a little curiosity flickered across his face, so I continued, "This idiot next to me is known as Scar face, Ponytail, Moron, Baldy" I stopped when I felt Zuko's arm heating up next to mine, which was getting very uncomfortable, "Hey! Quit it! You know you deserve it!" I snapped at him. He looked surprised for a second, then just glared at me. I rolled my eyes again.

Lifting my hand slightly, I jabbed my thumb at him, "As you can see, with him, the possibilities are endless." Zuko growled, and I lost my temper, "WILL YOU QUIT IT WITH THE GROWLING!" I yelled at him, enjoying the look of shock upon his face, "YOU ARE NOT A FREAKING ANIMAL!"

I finished my rant, and breathed calmly. My expression changed dramatically, from rage to complete calm. "That is all."

I looked at him, and smirked slightly at the look of shock and amusement on his face, "I think I'll leave you two tied up there a little longer." He turned on his heel and walked off, smirking profoundly.

I groaned, before closing my eyes again. I was getting a headache from all the shouting and banging and yelling and crashing. It helped my head a little feeling the fires around me. Zuko's was particularly hot at the moment, rising and falling a little with each breath. Zhao's was more calm, but deadly and cruel, it matched his personality perfectly.

I concentrated more and realized that Zuko's fire also showed his personality. It was strong and vibrant, but blunt and undisciplined. It also showed his pain.

I sighed a little. So much about Zuko changed in the course of the series, from being the sweet and sensitive kid, to the cold and cruel sixteen- year- old he is now, then to the formal Fire Lord.

And that hairstyle! At the moment he looked like a five-year-old had got into a tantrum and taken it out on his head!

I stopped thinking when I heard him mumbling, "Stupid girl, stupid names, stupid peasants, stupid Zhao-"

"Will you SHUT UP!" I shouted at him, "Mumbling 'stupid' a hundred times sure ain't gonna do anything!"

He glared at me, "If I weren't chained to the pillar, you would be dead-"

"Yeah, right. Like you could win against me. You stupid, spoilt, thick, hotheaded-"

"You cranky, filthy, low-life, crazy-"

"Um, guys?" Sokka interrupted.

"WHAT!" we both screamed at him, causing poor Sokka to cower. I looked at Zuko, and he looked at me, both of us a little shocked, but still fuming.

"Sorry, Sokka, what is it?" I asked softly, the opposite to before. Zuko was even more surprised, but I just ignored him.

"The door is sort of glowing..." he replied nervously.

I looked at the door. It was, indeed, glowing. "How the hell did I miss that?" I asked quietly to myself, but Zuko had other ideas.

"Maybe because you're peasant mind can't process it." He sneered. I glared at him.

"Shut up and get a haircut!"

I turned back to the door, which was now also emitting steam. I tensed, ready to run as soon as the chains melted. Maybe I could trip Zuko on his way out too...

The sages gasped, and I was forced to look away at the bright light. Unfortunately, my head ended up on Zuko's shoulder, but I couldn't move it without looking into the light, so I stamped on his foot when he started.

As soon as the light died down, I looked back towards the door. I could see a set of eyes glowing pure white. Zhao and some soldiers prepared to attack.

"No! Aang!" Katara yelled.

"Fire!" Zhao shot at Aang, as did the soldiers. But their fire did not harm Aang, instead the fire was bended in a ball around him. Then, I noticed it was actually, "Roku."

Roku bended the fire into a ball, then shot it at Zhao and his men. The fire melted the chains, and I sprang forwards. Zuko had to struggle for a second, but he broke his way out, and ran for the exit. I took my chance.

He had to go past me to get out, so, when he was right beside me, I stuck my leg out, tripping him. He was running so fast that the momentum took him forward a few steps, then he lost his balance and fell.

I laughed when he stood back up again. He had his back to me, but I could see him shaking from anger. He turned sharply.

"You will pay for this, peasant!" He snarled. I just rolled my eyes.

"Whatever. Empty threats don't scare me." I said smugly. He roared in frustration, flames coming from his mouth. I could see that he wanted to attack me then and there, but the temple was collapsing around us, so he turned and ran. _Chicken._

I span around when a large jet of lava sprouted just in front of me. I leaped to the side, avoiding it, and then saw Katara and Sokka crouching behind a pillar, so I ran towards them. When I reached them, we stood up and looked over at Roku, but Aang was now standing there. I guessed it was the end of the solstice.

We ran over to Aang just as he collapsed to the floor.

"We got your back." Sokka said, lifting him up. I helped Sokka, whilst Katara grabbed his other arm.

"Thanks. Where's Shyu?" Aang asked.

"I don't know." Katara said sadly.

"I'm sure he's okay." I said doubtfully. Shyu would be on Zhao' ship around now.

Aang was okay after a few steps, but when we reached the exit, the stairs had filled with lava. We stood there for a second, but we had to get out of the way, as the pillars were collapsing around us. We made it to the wall, where a gaping hole had been made. As I stood, I could see the land moving past us as the temple slid down the volcano's side.

We all gasped, mine in relief, when we saw Momo and Appa flying towards us. We jumped out onto the roof, sliding down it, and landed on Appa. I feel into the saddle, and hugged Appa's head.

"Never thought I'd be so grateful to say you." I said to Appa, who growled happily. As we flew away, I sat up, and watched the temple completely collapse. Three Fire Nation ships were gathered around the island, obviously under the command of Zhao.

I lay back and smiled. _At least there will be peace for a little while._


	10. Chapter 10

**As usual, please please please please please please review! Even a tiny comment is appreciated!**

**Also, I'm not very good at drawing, but if anyone would like to have a go at drawing Kaida, send me a message and I'll put it on my account if it's good!**

**Disclaimer: YES! I OWN AVATER!**

**Zhao: No, you don't.**

**Me: Oh. Yeah. That was just a cruel, cruel dream. Wait... WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!**

**Zhao: I am everywhere. MWAHAHAHA!**

**Me: I can't wait until you get eaten by the giant fish.**

**Anyway! I don't own A:TLA**

Pirates

"Would you sit down? If we hit a bump you'll go flying off! What's bugging you anyway?"

I turned around and saw Aang pacing on the saddle, panting slightly. He stopped at the head of the saddle, "It's what Avatar Roku said. I'm supposed to master all four elements before that comet arrives."

"Well, let's see, you've pretty much mastered airbending and that only took you 112 years... I'm sure you can master three more elements by next summer."

Aang had a frightened expression on his face, "I haven't even started waterbending and we're still weeks away from the North Pole! What am I gonna do!"

Katara grabbed his arm, and pulled him to sit in front of her, "Calm down. It's going to be okay. If you want, I can try and teach you some of the stuff I know."

"You'd do that?"

Katara nodded, "We'll need to find a good source of water first." Katara, Aang and I crawled to the edge of the saddle, peering over it at the land below.

"Maybe we can find a puddle for you to splash in." Sokka said sarcastically. I rolled my eyes and kept looking, until I saw something.

"I think I just found the perfect puddle."

XxXx

"Nice puddle." Sokka said, and I grinned.

In front of us was a small but beautiful waterfall. It created a river which was jutted with rocks, and the water was crystal blue. I smiled even more at Katara and Aang's amazed faces.

Appa landed with a large splash in the middle of the water, drenching Momo who was sitting on a rock.

"Yehhh! Don't start without me, boy!" Aang said, already in his underwear.

Just as he was about to dive in, Katara caught him, "Remember the reason we're here."

"Oh right, time to practice waterbending." Aang said, pulling his trousers on again.

"Great. So what am I supposed to do?" Sokka asked.

"You could... clean the gunk out of Appa's toes?" Aang suggested, holding out a leafy branch.

Sokka crossed his arms, "So, while you guys are playing in the water, I'm supposed to be hard at work picking the mud out of a giant bison's feet?"

"Mud and bugs!" Aang smiled.

Sokka paused for a second, "Okay." He grabbed the branch and walked over to Appa. I giggled at them.

Katara, Aang and I walked over to the edge of the water, where Aang sat on the floor.

"Okay if I join?" I asked, maybe I could try to teach Aang a move or two.

"Sure!" Aang grinned up at me, and Katara nodded with a smile. I sat down next to Aang.

"This is a pretty basic move, but it still took me months to perfect, so don't be frustrated if you don't get it right away. Just push and pull the water like this-" She bobbed back and forth gracefully, the water on the shore moving with her, "Kaida, you already know this move, but practice makes perfect."

I jumped up and copied her, except my wave was a lot larger. This seemed to bother her a little, so she turned her attention to Aang.

"The key is getting the wrist movement right."

Aang jumped up and copied us, "Like this?"

"That's almost right, if you keep practicing, I'm sure eventually –"

"Hey, I'm bending it already!" Aang said excitedly. I looked over at Aang, and saw that his wave was slightly larger than mine.

"Wow, I can't believe you got that so quickly." She looked a little unhappy, "It took me two months to learn that move."

"Well, you had to figure it out on your own. I'm lucky enough to have a great teacher."

"Thanks."

"Hey, Aang!" I called, he stood beside me again, "How about a little friendly competition?"

"You're on!" We both began to push and pull the water, the waves getting bigger and bigger. Eventually each wave was as tall as Appa.

"Ahem!" We both dropped the water and turned to face Katara, who had her arms crossed. "Can we please continue with the lesson?" she snapped a little.

"Oh, sorry Katara." I said, looking at the floor.

"Yeah, sorry." Aang added. I looked up again and Katara smiled a little.

"It's okay. This is a more difficult move. I call it...streaming the water." Katara moved her hands and pulled a stream of water from the river and began to loop it around. I copied her again, it was quite easy, you just had to concentrate and move with the water. That was a good thing about waterbending; it was all about imagination, there was no strict rules on how to bend.

"It's harder than it looks so don't be disappointed if-"

I looked at Aang and smiled when I saw him doing some sort of dance with the water. He streamed it around him, and made it do a sort of zig-zag motion. My smile faded slightly when Katara frowned and dropped her water into the river. Aang and I did the same, but the water went in a stream and ended with a quiet splash.

"Nice work, though the over-the-head flare was unnecessary." Katara said, looking a little sour.

"Sorry. Well, don't stop now, keep'em coming!" Aang grinned.

"Well, I kinda know this one other move, but it's pretty hard. I haven't even totally figured it out yet." Katara looked unsure, "The idea is to create a big, powerful wave..."

Katara concentrates, raises a blob of water out of the river, but it falls back upon itself when Katara's concentration collapses. Aang sets up to try, as did I.

"So, like this?" Aang asked. He raised his arms and huge wall of water shot into the air. Mine did the same, but I made it smaller noticing the envious look on Katara's face. I laughed when the water landed on Appa, drenching Sokka and knocking him off in the process.

"Looks like I got the hang of that move! What else ya got?" Aang asked.

"That's enough practicing for today." Katara said crossly.

"Yeh, I'll say! You just practiced our supplies down the river!" Sokka said.

"Uhhh... sorry. I'm sure we can find somewhere to replace all this stuff." I looked around frantically for my bag and swords, and sighed in relief when I saw them near the trees.

Sokka sank back down into the water, "Ugh, it was hard enough when you were just an airbender."

XxXx

"Nice place." I said, a little frightened. The market was full of strange looking people, bearing an assortment of scars and weapons. Looking at Katara and Sokka's faces, I saw that they were feeling the same way as I did. Aang, ever the optimist, had a look of awe on his face.

Eventually we got to a more deserted street, and Katara, Aang and I perched on an empty stall window.

"We've got exactly three copper pieces left from the money that King Bumi gave us. Let's spend it wisely." Sokka said, walking in from an alley beside us.

Aang hopped down and admitted, "Uhh, make that two copper pieces, Sokka. I couldn't say no to this whistle!" he brought out a whistle, which was shaped vaguely like a white sky bison. Aang took a deep breath and blew the whistle. Sokka plugged his ears, but all you could hear was the sound of rushing air.

Sokka stood back up with his hands on his hips, "It doesn't even work." Momo chittered into Aang's ear when Aang stopped blowing, "See, even Momo thinks it's a piece of junk."

"No offense, Aang, but I'll hold the money from now on." Katara held her hand out and Aang gave her the money, looking guilty.

We kept walking, occasionally looking at a couple of shops, but there was nothing really there we wanted, let alone could afford.

"Earth Nation! Fire Nation! Water Nation! So long as bargains are your inclination, you're welcome here! Don't be shy, come one by!" I looked over and saw a man dressed in dark green trousers and lighter top, with a matching dark green bandana. _Pirates._

"Oh! You there! I can see by your clothing that you're world traveling types." He ran over to us, but we just kept walking. "Perhaps I can interest you in some exotic curios?"

That got Aang's interest, so with a sigh I turned back to stand beside Aang as he asked, "Sure! What are curios?"

The pirate paused, "I'm not entirely sure, but we got'em!"

He put his arm around Aang's shoulder and led him towards the ship, forcing us to follow. The ship had red sails, and reminded me a little of 'Pirates of the Carrabien'. We entered the ship, and I instantly walked over to the weapons section. There were some beautifully crafted daggers, perfect for throwing, but there was no way I could afford them.

Then I remembered the money that Yue had given me. Excitedly I took out my purse, to find it empty. I was confused for a second, then remembered that we had spent it all on food and other supplies ages ago. I looked longingly at the daggers before turning and walking over to Katara who was examining a waterbending scroll.

"Look at this, Aang, Kaida! It's a waterbending scroll. Check out these crazy moves!" She said. I looked over her shoulder at the scroll. It depicted a man doing a variety of moves, including the water whip.

Aang looked over at the Pirate Captain, "Where did you get a waterbending scroll?"

The Pirate slammed his hand down on the scroll, and carefully rolled it up, smiling, "Let's just say I got it up north at a most reasonable price. Free!"

He placed it back on the rack, and I saw Katara looking at it hungrily. Did she have to make it so obvious?

"Waaait a minute..." I saw Sokka puzzling something out, "Sea-loving traders...with suspiciously acquired merchandise...and pet reptile birds...You guys are pirates!"

"Seriously, Sokka. You only _just _figured that out!" I rolled my eyes at him.

The pirate from earlier put his arm around Sokka's shoulder, "We prefer to think of ourselves as high risk traders."

Katara looked down at the two measly copper coins, then turned to the Captain, "So, how much for the, uh,' traded' scroll?"

"I've already got a buyer, a nobleman in the Earth Kingdom. Unless, of course, you kids have 200 gold pieces on ya right now?" he replied. Katara and Aang turned away from the Captain, towards me.

"I know how to deal with these guys, Katara, pirates love to haggle." Aang assured. Katara gave him the two copper pieces, "Watch and learn."Aang walked over to the pirate, and I watched a little nervously, "What say to the price of... one copper piece!"

He held the piece up to the Captain, who just laughed, "Hahaha! The price is 200 gold pieces. I don't haggle on items this rare."

"Okay... two copper pieces!"

"It's not as amusing the second time, boy." The Captain growled.

"Aang, can we get out of here, I feel like we're getting weird looks." Katara said nervously.

"Yeah, I think we should go." I added.

"Aye, we be castin' off now!" Aang said in a fake pirate accent. We left quickly, making sure not to look back.

When we were off the plank, Aang asked Katara, "What was that all about, Katara."

"Yeh, I was just starting to browse through their boomerang collection." Sokka said.

Katara hugged herself protectively, "I'll just feel a lot better once we get away from here."

"Are you sure that's it?" I asked knowingly. She just looked at me quizzically, probably asking herself how I could know. We were interrupted by a pirate.

"Hey you, get back here!" We all turned to look at him.

"Well, well, look who's come to their senses. Told ya the haggling would pay off." Aang said smugly.

About seven pirates gathered in front of us, each holding a different weapon, and looking very angry.

"Um, this is just a guess, but I don't think they're here to trade with us!" I said.

We turned and ran, with the pirates on our heels. As we turned a corner, I spotted a barrel of water on my left, and, spinning around, froze one of the pirate's feet to the ground, causing him to fall on his face. I smirked a little, especially when Katara also froze some water to the floor, causing a pirate to fall and land on a few crates.

The others jumped over the ice, and continued chasing us. We kept running, and I spotted poor Cabbage Man and his portable stand. Sokka and Katara banged into it as they went by, and I used the side of it to project myself over it in a flip. I looked back and saw Aang use his airbending to shoot through the gap, then he turned around, airbending the cart back and slamming it into the pirates.

We kept running, but three more pirates entered the alley in front of us. So we made a quick 180 degrees turn, with the pirates shouting after us, "I hope that lemur of yours has nine lives!"

We turned left, but ran into Sokka, who had been in front of me. Shaking my head to clear it, I jumped up, and stood in a defensive position beside Katara and Aang.

The green-clad pirate wielded a pair of long knives, "Now, who gets to take the steel of my blade first?"

"No thanks!" Aang airbended a huge blast of wind at the pirate's, momentarily blinding them with dust. He rushed forward with his glider open, and Katara and Sokka latched onto his legs.

"Hey! Where am I supposed to go?" I ran alongside them.

"Jump on top of the glider!" Aang instructed. We were almost at the pirate's, so, using Sokka to climb up, clambered onto the top of the glider. I felt the glider wobble slightly with my weight, so I lay down flat, holding onto the sides tightly in fear of falling off. I let a small shriek escape when we rose up high above the village, but soon found myself enjoying it. Kneeling, but still holding on tight, I spotted the waterfall below.

I leaned over the edge of the glider, preparing to jump as we got closer. "What are you doing?" I heard Sokka and Katara yell at the same time, but I didn't answer. Instead I sprang forwards into a dive when we were twenty metres above the water. Using my waterbending, I pulled a wall of water upwards so that I wouldn't hit shallow water.

I held my breath when I made contact with the water, and pushed my arms out creating a gigantic splash. The water was cool and refreshing, and when I emerged I was grinning. Katara, Sokka and Aang stood at the edge of the river, all with their arms crossed. They looked so comical that I couldn't resist the urge to laugh at them.

I swam quickly to the edge, and, using waterbending, pulled the water out of my clothes and hair. My hair was a bit messy, so I redid the plat, whilst listening to Katara's scolding.

"Why on earth did you do that?" She scolded, "You could have died! We were so worried! Why-"

"Admit it, Katara," I interrupted, "You know you wanted to do it too."

I grinned at her but she just crossed her arms and, "Hmth"ed. I rolled my eyes and looked at Aang.

"I used to kinda look up to pirates, but those guys are terrible." He said.

Katara finally smiled, "I know, that's why I took... this!" she brought out the waterbending scroll and held it out to Aang.

"No way." Aang said.

" Isn't it great?"

"No wonder they were trying to hack us up. You stole their waterbending scroll." Sokka said. _Ha, it's Katara's turn to get scolded._

Katara, however, looked self satisfied, "I prefer to think of it as 'high-risk trading.'"

"Aang smiled, and so did I, a little, "Haha! Good one, Katara."

"Sokka, where do you think they got it? They stole it from a waterbender."

"It doesn't matter. You put all of our lives in danger just so you could learn some stupid, fancy splashes!"

"These are real waterbending forms. You know how crucial it is for Aang to learn waterbending."

"I agree with Katara, we do really need to learn some new moves." I said, hoping to break p the sibling fight.

Katara looked smug, and Sokka just turned and walked away, "Whatever."

"Well, what's done is done. We have it. We might as well learn from it." Aang said.

XxXx

Zuko POV

"Ooh! This place looks promising!"

I looked up, my arms still crossed, and groaned when Uncle ran to a ship that obviously belonged to pirates. I followed, stomping my feet a little. I should be out looking for the Avatar! Not buying random junk!

I entered the hold, and spotted uncle looking at some sort of monkey statue decorated with rubies.

"Ooo! That is handsome! Wouldn't it look magnificent in the galley?" I didn't answer, my fists clenched at my side.

"We lost the Water Tribe girl and the little bald monk she was travelling with."

_That _caught my attention.

I turned to face them; the man, obviously a pirate, was talking to the Captain, who stood behind a counter, "This monk, did he have an arrow on his head? And did one of the water peasants have blue-black hair?" I asked, walking towards them.

Kaida POV

"I just want to try this one move first and then it's all yours."

Aang stood just in front of Katara, who was by the river. The scroll was open in Aang's hands, and Katara leant forwards, assuming the bending stance I could see on the scroll. I wanted to let Katara have a turn first, so I stood to the side, watching.

"The single water whip... looks doable." Katara said. She pulled a stream from the water, but it was a bit sloppy and wobbly. When she tried to whip it, the water, instead of hitting the air in front of her, hit herself on the forehead. I held my breath, trying not to laugh.

Sokka, sitting on a rock nearby, laughed.

"What's so funny?" Katara growled.

"I'm sorry, but you deserve that." Sokka looked at Aang and me, "You've been duped. She's only interested in teaching herself."

Katara looked guilty, "Aang and Kaida will get their turn once I figure out the water whip!"

She tried again, but the whip once again went the wrong way, hitting poor Momo, who screeched.

"Ugh! Why can't I get this stupid move!"

Aang and I walked over to the river, "You'll get it." Aang said, but it only seemed to annoy Katara more.

Aang got into position, so I thought I might give it a try. We gently lifted a stream of water, and I concentrated on the control of it, as it seemed that was what was going wrong for Katara. When you waterbended, the water felt like a living thing. Although it was probably less lively than fire, it was still quite hard to control.

I listened to Aang as we mirrored eachother in the moves, "You just gotta shift your weight through the stances..." We both gracefully completed the move, pushing the water ahead of us in a gentle whip, then dropped the water back in the river. I straightened up, and was really pleased with myself. I hadn't thought I'd get it first try.

"There. See, the key to bending is-" Aang began.

"Will you PLEASE shut your air hole!" My smile disappeared when I saw Katara shaking her fists angrily, "Believe it or not, your infinite wisdom gets a little old sometimes. Why don't we just throw the scroll away since you're so naturally gifted!"

"KATARA!" I yelled angrily at her.

"WHAT!" she glared at me. I just looked pointedly at Aang. She followed my gaze and her face softened. Aang looked so frightened and was on the verge of tears, his eyes wide and lip trembling.

"Omigosh, Aang, I'm so sorry. I don't know what came over me. But, you know what, it won't happen again." she rolled up the scroll and gave it to Aang, "Here, this is yours and Kaida's. I don't want to have anything to do with it anymore."

"It's okay, Katara." Aang said, still sounding a little upset.

"What about Momo? He's the real victim here." Sokka said.

Katara walked over to Momo and stroked his ears, "I'm sorry Momo."

"And...what about me?" said Sokka, clearly milking the situation, "There was that time you-"

"No more apologies!" Katara was angry again, which scared Momo off.

She sighed and calmed down." I'm going to go get some berries for dinner."

"Kay." I said, sitting down. I was getting tired as it was rather late.

"That's it!" Sokka shouted. I turned to look at him curiously. What was it now?

"What?" I asked.

"Your new nick name! Kai! As in Kai-Da." He grinned triumphantly.

I rolled my eyes, "How imaginative, Sok."

XxXx

_I was back home, but it was dark. "Mum?" I called out, but received no reply. Walking into the living room, I looked around desperately, but even the furniture was gone. It was just black. I tried running, but the blackness went on forever._

"_Kaida." A voice said softly from behind me. I turned and saw it was Zuko, which shocked me even more._

"_What are you doing here?" I asked, frightened. He grabbed my wrists which were held up in a defensive position._

"_I'll save you from the pirates, Kai."_

I woke with a jolt, sitting up straight. I looked around and saw that Katara's sleeping bag was empty.

I was worried for a second, then remembered she would have gone to practice waterbending.

_But that means...Zuko! _

I jumped up, careful not to wake up Sokka and Aang, and walked into the forest in the direction Katara had gone in this episode.

Eventually I spotted the river bank, and then Katara. She was tied to a tree, and probably hadn't been there long, as the sun hadn't risen yet. When I was at the edge of the forest, almost in the open, I stealthily climbed the tree nearest to Katara's.

Climbing to one of the highest branches, I surveyed the scene below me. Zuko and his men were gathered, fortunately they all had their backs to me. I held my breath and leaped from my tree to Katara's, blending in with the dark night. The leaves made a slight rustling sound when I landed, and I cringed.

"What was that?" Zuko had heard me then. Him and the soldiers looked around, but were too stupid to actually look into the tree, where the sound came from. Katara did look up though, straight at me. Her eyes widened so I brought my finger to my lips, the international 'Shh' sign. She nodded slightly and looked down, pretending to look for whatever made the noise on ground level.

I settled down on the branch, my back against the trunk, making sure it was sturdy enough. I decided to wait until Sokka, Aang and the other pirates came back; it would be easier to free Katara when everyone was distracted.

"You don't know what it was, do you?" Zuko sneered. I jumped a little, worried he'd seen me, but relaxed when I saw that he was talking to Katara.

"And how am I supposed to know? It's not like I can look around!" Katara answered defiantly. I smiled down at her, admiring her bravery.

"Prince Zuko, I'm sure it was just a small animal." Iroh said in a reasonable voice. I looked over at him, and smiled. It was the same old, happy Iroh from the TV show. How anyone as kind as Iroh could be related to Zuko, I did not know.

I lay in the tree, just listening to the steady fire from the soldiers, until the sun rose, waking me up a little. I sat apprehensively; Aang and Sokka would be captured soon. I watched Zuko pacing in front of his soldiers and almost laughed. I'd never realized how _short_ he was! He must've grown another foot by the end of season 3!

I tensed when I watched the pirates lead Sokka and Aang over. I climbed down the back of the tree, crouching on the bottom branch. I was close enough to hear them talking, and leaned around it to watch.

"Nice work." Zuko said, holding the waterbending scroll.

"Aang, this is all my fault." Katara said sadly.

"No, Katara it isn't." Aang said.

"Yeh, it kind of is." Iroh said from beside Katara, which made me giggle slightly. Thankfully, no one noticed.

"Give me the boy." Zuko demanded.

"You give us the scroll." The Captain said.

"You're really gonna hand over the Avatar for a stupid piece of parchment!" Sokka asked.

Zuko pointed at Sokka, "Don't listen to him! He's trying to turn us against each other."

The Pirate Captain looked at Aang, "Your friend is the Avatar?"

Sokka appeared at the Captain's side, "Sure is, and I'll bet he'll fetch a lot more on the black market then that fancy scroll."

"Shut your mouth, you water tribe peasant!"

Aang obviously hadn't caught on to the plan, "Yeh, Sokka, you really should shut your mouth..."  
Sokka looked sweetly at the obviously interested pirates, "I'm just sayin', it's bad business sense. Just imagine how much the Fire Lord would pay for the Avatar. You guys would be set for life!"

"Keep the scroll! We can buy a hundred with the reward we will get for the kid." The Captain said as they began walking away.

"You'll regret breaking a deal with me!" Zuko said, before him and two other firebenders unleashed a torrent of flames at the pirates, who jumped out of the way.

I took this as my cue, and jumped down from the branch. No-one was looking at Katara or me, they were too busy fighting. I took out the knife from my boot, and easily cut the rope in one swift stroke. She stepped forward, and turned to me, a smile on her face.

"Thanks." She said.

"No problem," I spotted Zuko fighting the Captain, the scroll still in the back of his belt, "Now let's kicks some firebender/pirate butt!"

We ran towards them, me heading towards Zuko, Katara towards the pirates. I tried to keep behind Zuko, but it was hard as he kept dodging and attacking the pirate.

They didn't pay me much attention, too focussed on their fight. I noticed Katara, Aang and Sokka over by the boat. I had to do this quick.

"Excuse me?" I said politely, raising my hand a little as if I were in school. I stood next to Zuko, as they both stared in shock at me. They probably hadn't expected to be interrupted in their fight so politely.

"W-what?" Zuko stuttered. I grinned and flipped right over him, rolling into a crouch. In the flip I had managed to grab the scroll right from Zuko's belt.

"Thanks!" I shouted, whilst running straight for the ship. It was already in the water, sailing away.

Desperately I jumped into the water, freezing the ice below me in an ice board. Rushing through the water, I swept my arms around, creating a wave which swept me on deck. Thankfully, it also swept away a pirate that was about to attack me with a sword.

"Thanks for waiting for me!" I said sarcastically.

"Sorry, but we kind of have our hands full!" Sokka said, trying to fight two pirates at once. I took out my broadswords and pushed Sokka to the side, so that the pirates' attention was on me.

"Oh, look at the little girl, trying to be the hero." One of them holding a single long sword sneered.

"Don't underestimate me." I growled before attacking him. It didn't take long. He fought dirty, trying to kick or punch me when he got a chance, but I blocked or dodged every attack. He finally cornered me at the edge of the ship.

"No-where to run now." He said.

"You got that right!" I somersaulted over him, so that he was at the edge, with one swift kick he flew over the edge, into the river.

I turned to my new opponent, who had watched the entire time. He was tall, very tall, and had broad shoulders and held a long club.

"You know what?" I said.

"What?" he snarled.

I smirked, "I can't be doing with this." In one swift motion, I dropped my swords, and swept my arms across the ship, bringing with it a wave twice as tall as the pirate. It collapsed onto him when I let go, then, pushing my arms back the other way, pulled him over the side of the ship.

I looked around triumphantly, and saw Sokka watching me with his mouth open. I laughed and walked past him, "Thanks for the help." I said, sarcastic once again.

"Aang! Kaida!" I looked up to see Katara by the wheel of the ship, "Look!" I gasped when I followed her gaze. We were about to go over a waterfall!

I joined Katara as we ran to the front of the ship, and Aang came with us after a couple of seconds.

"We can stop the boat! Aang, Kaida, together, push and pull the water!"

I did as Katara said, making pushing and pulling motions bringing the boat to its side. The movements created three large whirlpools by the ship, slowing down and eventually stopping it.

"We're doing it!" Katara said, excited.

"But we have another problem!" Sokka yelled. I saw the small ship that previously belonged to Zuko sailing towards us. Upon impact it shoved our ship over the waterfall, tipping it. We all slid to the side of the ship.

"JUMP!" Aang yelled. We didn't have much choice about it, but I kicked against the boat to propel myself forwards. I grabbed Katara's hand as we fell, each of us screaming. I closed my eyes.

When we hit something, I opened my eyes. I beamed and sighed in relief when I saw that Appa had saved us, and we were now safe on his saddle. I looked back at the waterfall, and saw our ship plunge into the water onto the rocks below, causing me to cringe.

I looked back at the others, and saw them all panting slightly.

"I knew a bison whistle would come in handy." Aang said, holding the whistle up. "Thanks Appa."

"Yeah, we owe ya one." Sokka added.

Appa grunted back, and I smiled.

We went through a layer of clouds, and I crossed my legs, stroking Momo absentmindedly.

"Aang, I still owe you an apology." I looked over at Katara, "You were just so good at waterbending without really trying. I got so competitive that I put us all in danger. I'm sorry."

"That's okay, Katara." Aang said.

"Besides, who needs that stupid scroll anyway."

I smirked, "You mean this scroll?" I took the scroll from my belt and held it out.

She reached out for it, "The scroll!"

I held it away, just out of her reach, as Sokka said, "First, what did you learn?"

"Stealing is wrong." I handed her the scroll, "Unless it's from pirates!"

Aang and I giggled, "Haha! Good one, Katara." Aang said.


	11. Chapter 11

**Thank you to everyone and anyone who has reviewed!**

**I welcome any comments!**

**Disclaimer: If I owned A:TLA, would I really be writing this? **

**So no, I do not own it**

Freedom Fighters

Kaida POV

"Where's Momo?"

"Huh?" I said. Looking up from the book I was reading. It was about all the different types of animals in the Avatar World. I had found it in my bag underneath my clothes when I was hunting through it earlier that day.

Aang started walking off into the forest, so Katara, Sokka and I followed. I walked beside Katara, looking up at the treetops, trying to find Momo. Eventually we found him, trapped in a snare high above us.

We stood underneath whilst Aang releases a latch on the winch. I helped Katara and Sokka ease the trap down, pulling the squeaky slats apart far enough to make an exit for Momo, who jumped out and ran away to eat the berry from the trap. I smiled when Sokka groaned.

We looked back up to the tree tops and spotted two Hog Monkeys, which moaned pleadingly.

"All right, you too." Said Aang, as he used his airbending to climb up onto their branch.

"This is gonna take forever." Sokka complained, taking out his boomerang. He threw it and it cleanly cut through the ropes holding the traps. I rolled my eyes, boys have _no _patience. Well, at least Sokka doesn't.

"That works." Aang said, before sliding down the tree to the ground. The two Hog Monkeys ran away as soon as they got out of their traps.

I crouched beside Sokka, who was examining the traps.

"These are Fire Nation traps...you can tell from the metalwork. We'd better pack up camp, and get moving." He said.

Once we got back to camp, I packed up my sleeping bag and passed it up to Aang who was sitting on Appa. I paused when Sokka ran over to us.

"Ah-ah. No flying this time."

"What?" Katara asked.

"Why wouldn't we fly?" Aang said, confused. I just sighed and stood there, not looking forward to the long walk.

"Think about it. Somehow Prince Zuko and the Fire Nation keep finding us. It's because they spot Appa...he's just too noticeable." Sokka explained.

"What! Appa's not too noticeable!" Katara said, hands on hips.

"He's a gigantic fluffy monster with an arrow on his head. It's kinda hard to miss him!"

"Sokka's just jealous...cause he doesn't have an arrow." Aang said to Appa.

"I know you all want to fly, but my instincts tell me we should play it safe this time and walk."

"Who made you the boss?" Katara asked.

"I'm not the boss...I'm the leader."

"You're the leader? But your voice still cracks!" Katara was incredulous.

"I'm the oldest and I'm a warrior." He tried to speak deeper, "So I'm the leader!"

"Hey!" I said, "You're not the oldest! I'm the same age as you, if not older! Anyway, I could kick you're but any day!"

"If anyone's the leader, it's Aang. I mean, he is the Avatar." Katara reasoned.

"Are you kidding...he's just a goofy kid!"

I looked at Aang, who was dangling from Appa's horn upside down. I had to admit, he hardly looked like a responsible leader.

"He's right." Aang agreed.

"Why do boys always think someone has to be the leader? I bet you wouldn't be so bossy if you kissed a girl." Katara said.

"I-I've kissed a girl...you...just haven't met her."

"Who? Gran-gran? I've met Gran-gran." Katara mocked. I wondered if Sokka had actually ever kissed a girl, since Suki didn't kiss him. I wondered again which ship would win, Sukka or Tokka? If either of them.

"No...besides Gran-gran. Look, my instincts tell me we have a better chance of slipping through on foot and a leader has to trust his instincts."

"Okay, we'll try it your way Oh Wise Leader."

I slid my back pack on, over my swords but so I could still use them. I walked back over to Katara and Sokka just as Aang joined us.

"Who knows...walking might be fun."

XxXx

"Walking stinks! How do people go anywhere without a flying bison?"

I smiled at him, but had to agree. What I wouldn't give to have a car or even a bike!

"I don't know Aang. Why don't you ask Sokka's instincts...they seem to know everything." Katara said, smirking.

"Ha ha. Very funny." Sokka replied, sarcastically.

"I'm tired of carrying this pack." Aang whined.

"Aren't we all." I said quietly.

"You know who you should ask to carry it for a while? Sokka's Instincts!"

"That's a great idea! Hey, Sokka's Instincts, would you mind-"

"Okay, okay. I get it. Look guys, I'm tired too. But the important thing is that we're safe from the...Fire..Nation."

Just as Sokka finished his sentence, we pushed through some bushes, to enter a clearing. A clearing full of Fire Nation soldiers.

"Oh yes, Sokka. I feel so safe now." I said sarcastically, unsheathing my swords.

"RUN!" Sokka yelled, and we all turned back to the bushes. But before we could get through them, a Firebender set it alight.

I jumped back, and span around, ready to face the soldiers. "We're cut off!" Sokka shouted. _Thanks for stating the obvious._

"Sokka, your shirt." I turned to Sokka, and a giggle escaped when I saw his shirt had caught fire. He yelled in panic before Katara put it out using her bending water.

The soldiers surrounded us from the front, and the fire cut us off from the back. We stood ready to fight the soldiers, with Sokka and me at the front.

"If you let us pass, we promise not to hurt you." Sokka said to them.

"What are you doing?" Katara whispered.

"Bluffing?"

The one-eyed Captain smiled, "You? Promise not to hurt us?"

There was a quiet zip and a thud. The Captain looked surprised for a moment, then groaned and fell forward face first. The other soldiers lowered their weapons a little.

"Nice work, Sokka! How'd ya do that?" Aang asked.

"Uh, instinct?"

"Guys, look!" I pointed up at a tree branch, where I saw Jet use his swords to swing towards the ground, landing on two soldiers. He then used his two hooked swords to flip over two more soldiers, so that they landed on the first one. "Down you go."

I rolled my eyes at him, but decided it was my turn. Whilst a soldier was distracted, I took him out from behind, jabbing him in the back of his neck so that he crumpled, unconscious.

I turned round to see a soldier swing a sword at me. I bent backwards to avoid it, then kicked my legs up, turning it into a backwards flip, and knocked the sword out of his hands. I then slipped into a crouch, kicking the man's legs out from under him so he fell to the floor.

When I turned around again however, there was a soldier with his sword pointed at my throat, grinning. I gulped a little, but smirked when Jet charged him, flipping him over his shoulder.

I grinned at Jet, "Thanks."

"My pleasure." He smiled back. Then I saw the soldier stand back up again behind Jet, about to strike. In one swift movement, I slipped a dagger out of my arm wraps, throwing it at the soldier. The force was so strong that it caught the material above his shoulder and pinned him to a tree. Jet whipped around and saw the soldier dangling there, and turned back, grinning at me but looking a bit shocked before attacking two more soldiers who were in a fight with Sokka.

I looked around and spotted a firebender fighting Katara. I bended the water from my water skin and froze his feet to the ground, so that he fell face first. Then I made a water whip and hit him in the neck, rendering him unconscious. Katara smiled gratefully at me, before we both looked around.

All the soldiers were either unconscious or had run away. I walked over to Aang and Katara, who was standing with Jet.

"You just took out a whole army almost single-handed!" Aang was in awe.

"Army? Pfft. There were only, like, twenty guys!" said Sokka, who was clearly peeved.

"My name is Jet, and these are my Freedom Fighters. Sneers-" he gestured to a weaponless boy who was eating something out of one of the soldier's bowls.

"Longshot-" An archer raised his head at his name.

"Smellerbee-" A girl, I remembered though she looked like a boy, held a knife between her teeth and she brandished a sword in each hand when Jet mentioned her.

"The Duke and Pipsqueak." They were standing next to each other. The Duke was the smallest rebel, and he raised his staff lightly at his name. Pipsqueak was a giant, holding a large log that I knew he used to fight the soldiers with. _Poor, silly Fire Nation soldiers. I sure wouldn't want to fight him._

"Pipsqueak...that's a funny name." Said Aang, talking to The Duke.

The real Pipsqueak bent down, talking in a low deep voice, "You think my name is funny?"

"It's hilarious." Aang said, a smile plastered on his face.

Pipsqueak suddenly started to laugh, and slapped Aang on the back, accidently knocking Aang flat, Aang lifted his head up and continued laughing. I smiled at the sight.

I sat to the side of the camp, reading my book again whilst the freedom fighters raided the camp. I'd gotten to a bit about Cat-Wolves.

_The Cat-Wolf is a solitary animal, but once tamed is very loyal. One Cat-Wolf was the pet of Avatar Yoki, a waterbender. The wolf-cat is half the size of an adult human, with fangs and extremely sensitive hearing. It-_

"So, that was some impressive fighting out there."

I jumped slightly when I heard Jet's voice. He stood next to me, leaning against the tree I was sitting next to. I guessed he had just finished talking to Katara.

"Thanks. I could say the same for you." I said, putting the book in my bag and standing up next to him.

He smiled again at me, "Where did you learn those moves?" he asked. I decided to be honest.

"Well, I spent some time on Kioshi Island training with the warriors there, and the rest I taught myself."

I noticed he had leaned closer whilst I was talking, and it was getting pretty uncomfortable. Didn't he like Katara?

Thankfully we were interrupted, "Hey Jet," The Duke called, taking Jet's attention away from me. I breathed a quiet sigh of relief, "These barrels are filled with blasting jelly."

"That's a great score." Jet replied.

Pipsqueak held up a large crate, "And these boxes are filled with jelly candy!"

"Also good. Let's not get those mixed up."

I walked over to Sokka and Aang, trying to ignore Jet's eyes on my back. I stood next to Sokka and watched Pipsqueak, The Duke and Sneers loading up a wagon.

"We'll take the stuff back to the hideout." Pipsqueak said.

"You guys have a hideout?" Aang asked.

"You wanna see it?" Jet offered. _NO! _I wanted to scream, but I guessed we would no matter what I said.

"Yes we wanna see it!" Katara literally slid up beside him, her hands clasped.

We walked for about 20 minutes before stopping, surrounded by thick trees.

"We're here." Jet announced.

"Where? There's nothing here!" Sokka exclaimed.

"Hold this." Jet handed him a rope with a loop on the end.

Sokka took the rope, "Why? What's this do?" Without warning, he was pulled by his arm into the tree canopy, getting momentarily stuck in the leafy branches before disappearing.

He offered a similar rope to Aang, "Aang?"

"I'll get up on my own." Aang used his airbending to leap up into the tree.

"Kaida?" I looked at him, surprised. Shouldn't he be taking Katara up?

"Grab hold of me." He didn't give me a chance to reply; instead he grabbed my hand, pulling me against his chest. I was about to protest and move away, but the rope lifted us of the ground, forcing me to hold on to him.

I blushed in embarrassment and a little in anger. It wasn't at all like when he took Katara up into the treetops in the episode. I just felt irritated that he didn't even give me a choice!

After what seemed like an eternity, we finally landed on a platform. As soon as my feet touched the floor, I stepped away from him, looking for Sokka or Aang.

"Nice place you got!" I spotted Aang sliding down a zip line a little away from us. I sighed in relief, again, when Katara emerged from the hole beside us and landed on the platform, looking a little jealous and annoyed. She probably thought that I'd stolen Jet from Katara, when it was him who wouldn't leave me alone!

From the way Jet smirked down at me, he probably thought I was sighing out of sadness from not being alone with him anymore. I almost glared at him, but held it in.

I turned my attention to the surroundings. There were several platforms, stairs and bridges, and tent-like huts.

"It's beautiful up here!" Katara exclaimed.

"It's beautiful...and more importantly the Fire Nation can't find us." Jet replied.

I turned and saw that Smellerbee had landed behind us, "They would love to find you. Wouldn't they, Jet?"

"It's not gonna happen, Smellerbee."

We started walking along a bridge between the trees, when Katara asked, "Why does the Fire Nation want to find you?"

"I guess you could say I've been causing them a little trouble. See, they took over a nearby Earth Kingdom town a few years back."

Katara, Jet and I walked at the head of the group, with Sokka, Pipsqueak and another couple of Freedom Fighters following. I stood on the other side of Katara, as far away from Jet as I could. This seemed to please Katara.

"We've been ambushin' their troops, cutting off their supply lines, and doing anything we can to mess with 'em." Pipsqueak told us.

"One day, we'll drive the Fire Nation out of here for good and free that town." Jet said, determined.

"That's so brave." Katara praised.

"Yeah, nothing's braver than a guy in a treehouse." Sokka said sarcastically, coming up behind Katara and Jet.

"Don't pay any attention to my brother."

"No problem. He probably had a rough day." Jet replied. Sokka glared at him before starting to walk further back. I stepped back to stand with him, behind Katara.

"So, you all live here?" Katara asked.

"That's right. Longshot over there, His town got burned down by the fire Nation. And we found the Duke trying to steal our food. I don't think he ever really had a home."

I looked over at Longshot, whose head was slightly bowed. I caught his eye and smiled sympathetically. He smiled very slightly in response.

"What about you?"

Jet stopped, so the rest of us continued walking, leaving Katara behind with Jet. I was glad to get away from him.

XxXx

We sat around a table on a large platform. The table was filled with food and the night was lit with lanterns above us. I sat between Katara and Sokka, watching Jet's speech.

Jet stood on the table and began, "Today, we struck another blow against the Fire Nation swine."

The Freedom Fighters cheered at this, and Katara, Aang and I smiled. I'd decided to forgive Jet for what happened earlier that day, it's not like we were gonna be there for long.

"I got a special joy from the look on one soldier's face, when the Duke dropped down on his helmet and rode him like a wild hog monkey."

The Duke did a little victory lap on the table, and my smile got a little wider.

"Now, the Fire Nation thinks they don't have to worry about a couple of kids hiding in the trees. Maybe they're right." This statement was followed by Boo's.

"Or maybe...they are dead wrong." His followers cheered, but I didn't like the way he said it.

I was a bit annoyed when he sat down between Sokka and me, but wanted to be polite so said nothing.

"Hey Jet, nice speech." Katara praised. Again.

"Thanks. By the way, I was really impressed with you, Kaida and Aang. That was some great bending I saw out there today."

"Well, he's great. He's the Avatar, and Kaida's a natural. I could use some more training." She blushed and I rolled my eyes.

"Avatar huh? Very nice."

"Thanks, Jet." Aang said.

"So I might know a way that you two and Aang can help in our struggle."

"Unfortunately we have to leave tonight." Sokka stood up and walked away. I was about to agree when Jet interrupted.

"Sokka, you're kidding me! I needed you on an important mission tomorrow."

Sokka stopped and turned, "What mission?"

_Oh, Sokka. And here I thought I could count on you._

XxXx

"Sokka?" I grabbed Sokka's shoulder. Jet and some Freedom Fighters were just about to leave with Sokka, on the 'Special mission'.

"Yeah?" He turned to me, looking a bit confused.

"Can I come? Please?" I asked. I didn't want to leave Sokka alone with Jet.

"Sure. Jet won't mind." I followed him to the meeting place Jet had arranged. It was a small clearing just below the tree houses. Him, Pipsqueak and Smellerbee were already there.

"Ah, Sokka. Right on time. And... Kaida?" Jet asked. I let Sokka answer for me.

"Kaida asked if she could help. That's okay, right?" Sokka asked, an eyebrow raised.

"That's great." Jet replied, grinning at me. I glared slightly at him before shifting slightly, so that my shoulder was in his direction. _Now that's what I call giving him the cold shoulder._

It didn't take long to get to the sight of our 'mission.' We were waiting in the trees, but Jet hadn't told us what for. Sokka and I stood on a branch, with Jet just below us. He made some sort of bird call to Pipsqueak and Smeellerbee, who replied with their own.

I turned to Sokka when I heard him stab his knife in the tree.

"What are you doing?" Jet asked.

"Shh!" I smirked at Jet being 'Shh'ed, "It amplifies vibrations."

"Good trick." Jet was impressed.

Sokka cupped his hands around the handle of the dagger, "Nothing yet." He lowered his voice, "Wait! Yes, someone's approaching."

"How many?" Jet asked.

"I think there's just one."

Jet bird-called to the two Freedom Fighters again, before turning to us, "Good work, Sokka. Ready your weapon. You too Kaida."

I unsheathed my broadswords, then remembered it was just an old man. Putting them away, I watched sadly as Jet jumped down in front of the Fire Nation man. He didn't look threatening, and was using a cane to help him walk.

"What are you doing in our woods, you leech." Jet snarled.

"Please sir, I'm just a traveler."

I watched in horror as Jet, with one swipe of is sword, sent the cane flying from the man's hand. The old man tried to back away, but runs head first into Pipsqueak, the force knocking him to the ground. He tried to crawl away but Pipsqueak pinned him to the floor with his foot.

I couldn't take it anymore. I jumped from the branch, landing on the floor with knees bent, just in time to hear Jet say, "Do you like destroying towns? Do you like destroying families? Do you?"

The old man was frightened, "Oh...please let me go...have mercy.."

I ran towards them, "Does the Fire Nation let people go? Does the Fire Nation have mercy?" Jet yelled and prepared to kick him.

I jumped in the way, in front of the man, and kicked Jet's legs out from under him so that he fell to the floor. "Jet! What are you doing! He's just an old man!" I yelled, disgusted.

"He's Fire Nation!" He swung his sword down, straight at me, but I drew my swords and crossed them over my body, blocking his swords. But he get pushing, and his strength was starting to win.

"Jet! Stop!" I sighed in relief when Jet turned to Sokka, but kept my swords out in case he attacked again.

"Search him!" Jet ordered Smellerbee and Pipsqueak. There was nothing I could do, so I just tried to make sure they didn't hurt him anymore.

"But he's not hurting anyone!" Sokka protested behind me.

I turned and saw Jet argue back, "Have you forgotten that the Fire Nation killed your mother? Remember why you fight!"

"We got his stuff Jet." I saw Smellerbee holding up the man's bag, and Pipsqueak holding onto the old man, who looked like he would collapse on his own.

"This doesn't feel right."

"It isn't right!" I objected.

"It's what has to be done. Now let's get outta here." Jet ordered.

Pipsqueak and Smellerbee followed, but Sokka and I paused.

"C'mon Kaida." Sokka said.

"Wait." I said softly.

I turned back to the man, who was still lying pitifully on the floor. I knelt next to him and helped him up, putting his arm around my shoulders. When he was standing, I retrieved his cane from where it was in a bush, and handed it back.

"I'm sorry." I said quietly.

"No, thank you. You saved my life." He said gratefully.

"Kaida, we have to go." Sokka said softly, taking my arm. I looked back at the man who smiled at me, making me smile back.

XxXx

I sat there, fuming, next to Sokka. We were leaning against the tree trunk outside our hut. I couldn't get what Jet did out of my head! How could anyone be so cruel, no matter what nation!

"Sokka! Kaida! Look what the Duke gave me!" I looked up at Aang as he landed on the ledge we were on. He was wearing a satchel, (Not the old man's), and took out a small pellet. With a sly grin he tossed it at the platform beside Momo, where it exploded with a pop. Momo puffed up like a startled cat. He growled then lunged for the satchel, then sat on Aang's shoulder and tossed pellets at Aang's feet, causing Aang to dance about wildly.

I would have laughed, but I was too angry. Folding my arms, I stared into space.

"Hey Sokka, Kaida. Is Jet back?" Katara walked over to us. I growled slightly at the mention of Jet.

"Yeah, he's back. But we're leaving." Sokka replied.

"What?" Aang asked.

"But I made him this hat." I looked up at Katara to see her holding a poorly made hat with a flower on top.

"Your boyfriend Jet's a thug." Sokka stated.

"What? No, he's not."

"He's messed up Katara."

"He's not messed up, he's just got a different way of life...a really fun way of life." Aang said.

"He beat and robbed a harmless old man!"

"It's true, Katara." I said, standing up. "The man was no threat to us, and Jet attacked him."

Katara glared at me, "You're just jealous."

"Jealous of what?" I asked, surprised.

"You're jealous because he likes me, not you!"

I almost choked on air, "What! Why would I be jealous! I hate him!"

"Yeah right, you sure acted like that when he carried you up here!"

"What! He forced me!"

"Um, I think we should here Jet's side of this." Aang interrupted.

XxXx

"Sokka, Kaida, you told them what happened but you didn't mention that the guy was Fire Nation?"

We stood in Jet's hut, Sokka and I leaning unhappily against the side of thehut.

"No, they conveniently left that part out." Katara glared at us.

"Fine! But even if he was Fire Nation, he was a harmless civilian." Sokka defended.

"He was an assassin, Sokka." Jet lied.

He pulled out a knife with a cured blade and a ring on the top, and thrust it into a nearby block of wood.

"See? There's a compartment for poison in the knife." He pulled on the ring and removed a small glass tube filled with red liquid, "He was sent to eliminate me. You helped save my life, Sokka."

"He was _not _an assassin!" I said angrily, "He could've killed me easily when I helped him up, or even when _you _attacked me!"

"You helped him up!" Jet stood angrily.

"You attacked her?" Katara asked, confused, looking from me to Jet.

"No," Jet straightened up, "I was saving her from the Fire Nation assassin when she got in the way."

"That is such a lie!" Sokka yelled, "You came at her with a sword, and she only just defended herself in time!"

"Well, I believe Jet. It was just an understanding." Katara said smugly, arms crossed. She walked over to Jet and put a hand on his shoulder, giving me a look that clearly said _Jealous?_

"Don't worry Jet, we're with you." She said.

"Ugh! I'm packing!" I turned on my heel and sped from the room. I heard Sokka following, so I just walked faster, stopping in front of the tree trunk by our hut.

I'd never felt so angry and betrayed before! I slammed my fist into the tree, taking out my frustration. It hurt a little, but helped clear my mind.

I gasped at the dent I had made. The wood had splintered from the impact, and my hand had gone straight through it to the other side. This was not an easy thing to do, as the trunk was as wide as I am tall.

I growled and sat down, looking at my fist. The wood had cut my knuckles, and it was bleeding heavily. "Aww, crap!" I groaned.

"Here, let me have a look at that." I was startled when Sokka sat down next to me. He took my hand and examined it silently, before taking out a bandage from his pocket. He picked out the splinters, causing me to hiss and grimace in pain. When the splinters were gone, he wrapped my hand up.

"Thanks." I said when he was done. The bandage was tight, but not too tight, and well done.

"No problem. Whoa..." I looked up, and saw him staring at the hole I had made in the tree. I smiled slightly, before patting the tree.

"Sorry tree." I muttered, smiling a little when Sokka laughed quietly.

"C'mon, let's get packed." He stood up and held his hand out, which I took, and pulled me to my feet.

"Thanks." I said again, before heading inside. Everything was already packed for me, except my sleeping bag. We both started to roll them up when Katara and Aang entered.

"We can't leave now with the Fire Nation about to burn down a forest!" Katara said.

"I'm sorry Katara. Jet's very smooth, but we can't trust him." Sokka replied.

"You know what I think? You're jealous that he's a better warrior and a better leader!"

"Katara! Will you quit it with the jealousy thing! No-one is jealous!" I shouted at her. I was tired of her acting like such a little kid.

"Katara, I'm not jealous of Jet. It's just that my instinct-"

"Well my instincts tell me we need to stay here a little longer and help Jet. Come on Aang."

"Sorry Sokka." Said Aang, siding with Katara of course. They both left the hut and I sat down, tired of all the shouting.

XxXx

I jolted awake when I heard Sokka move next to me. I opened one eye and saw him get up and leave the hut. Sighing a little, I carefully stood up and ran silently after him. Ahead of me I saw him jump of the treehouse using the rope line, and followed him, just far enough away that he wouldn't notice me.

I jumped from branch to branch, above and behind Sokka, not making any noise.

"Now listen, you are not to blow the dam until I give the signal. If the reservoir isn't full, the Fire Nation troops could survive." I heard Jet say from an outcrop above the village.

I didn't listen any more, knowing what they were planning. Instead I focussed on watching Sokka and staying hidden. I was in a branch high above his head, but from there I could see his facial expressions change from shock to horror.

Then Pipsqueak grabbed him by his hair, pulling him out of the bush, and Smellerbee held a dagger to his throat.

"Sok-" escaped my mouth before I could clap my hand down over my mouth. I just hoped no-one had noticed.

"What was that?" I heard Jet call, and the next thing I knew an arrow whizzed through the air, knocking me off my branch, and pinning my sleeve to a tree trunk not far below, my feet a foot above the ground. I pulled against it, but an arrow pinned my other sleeve up. Two more came, pinning both my trouser legs to the trunk.

I struggled but gave up, it was no use.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" I glared at Jet, who was just a couple of steps away from me. Pipsqueak pulled Sokka towards Jet, and Sokka looked at me in surprise. I groaned. _Great, now they have both of us._

"I'm glad you decided to join us." Jet said, when Pipsqueak dropped Sokka to the floor, but they left me pinned up. I smirked, they were probably scared I would beat them.

"I heard your plan to destroy the Earth Kingdom town." Sokka said.

"Our plan is to rid the valley of the Fire Nation." Jet defended.

"And kill innocent people!" I exclaimed. Jet stalked towards me.

"Of course you would say that, Fire Nation scum!" he spat at me.

I flinched, then stared at him confused, "What are you talking about?"

"First, you defended a Fire Nation assassin. Second, you fought against me. Third, you're hair is black!"

"What! Those are stupid reasons!" I shouted, he really had gone crazy.

He looked like he was about to hit me, "There are people living there Jet, mothers and fathers and children." Sokka took the attention away from me. I relaxed slightly when he turned and walked away, to stand in front of Sokka again.

"We can't win without making some sacrifices."

Sokka pointed an accusing finger at Jet, "You lied to Aang and Katara about the forest fire!"

"Because they don't understand the demands of war. Not like you and I do.

"I do understand. I understand that there's nothing you won't do to get what you want."

"I was hoping you'd have an open mind, but I can see you've made your choice."

Pipsqueak and Smellerbee grabbed Sokka from behind, holding onto him.

"I can't let you warn Katara and Aang." Jet said, "Take him for a walk-a long walk."

"No!" I shouted. Jet turned to face me.

"Oh, don't worry, you're going with them."

Before I had time to react, Jet unpinned me from the tree and Pipsqueak held my arms behind my back. They led me and Sokka away, down a path into the forest. I sighed and didn't resist, I just had to wait into the right moment.

Smellerbee bound my hands behind my back, and did the same for Sokka.

We were still walking a few hours later.

"Come on, move along!" Smellerbee said, giving Sokka a shove. I jogged a little to stay out of her reach, fiddling with the rope knot. It was almost loose enough that I could slip my hands out.

"How can you stand by and do nothing while Jet wipes out a whole town?" Sokka asked.

"Hey listen Sokka, Jet's a great leader. We follow what he says, and things always turn out okay." Said Pipsqueak.

"Kaida." Sokka nudged me and looked to his left. I followed his gaze and spotted a couple of traps, similar to the one Momo got trapped in. I smiled and nodded.

"If that's how Jet leads, then he's got a lot to learn." We both sprinted for the snares, just avoiding them in time. I looked behind me and smirked, seeing Smellerbee and Pipsqueak trapped.

I easily slipped off the rope binding my hands, and grinned at Sokka who also had, "While you two are up there you might want to practice your knot-work."

We walked away, before breaking into a run. "We need to warn the village!" I said.

Sokka nodded in response, "This way."

It only took a few minutes at the pace we were going to get there. Most of the villagers were already gathered in the town centre.

"You need to evacuate NOW!" Sokka yelled, catching their attention.

"The dam's going to burst any minute now!" I added.

"What's going on here?" A Fire Nation guard walked up to us, flanked by three others.

"The dam is going to break and flood this village! You need to evacuate!" Sokka explained.

"Wait, how do we know you're not spies?" one guard asked, putting a hand on Sokka's shoulder.

"Please, we're not!" I pleaded.

"They're not spies!" I turned to see the old man Jet mugged. "These young people saved my life from some rebels. You can trust them."

"Please. We need you to evacuate now." I urged.

The soldier's debated for a moment before agreeing.

It took a while to evacuate, but everyone was out when the dam finally broke. The water rushed down the valley as I watched, destroying the buildings in the village along the way.

Sokka grabbed my hand, "C',mon, we need to find Aang and Katara."

Appa was nearby, and we soon found him. "Hey, buddy." I said, stoking him. Sokka and I sat on his head, with Sokka guiding Appa towards the out-crop.

We landed just in time to hear Jet say, "The Fire Nation is gone and this valley will be safe."

"It will be safe...without you_._" Sokka said cleverly. I jumped from Appa's head, landing beside Katara. I was confused for a second, looking at Jet. Rather than his whole body being frozen to the tree by Katara, it was just his bottom half. I shrugged it off as Katara hugged me.

"Kaida, Sokka!" she said as she let go of me.

I didn't listen as Sokka explained how we warned the villagers. Instead I watched Jet. He was inching his hand slowly towards his belt. I was about to mention something to Katara when Sokka finished speaking.

"Sokka, you fool! We could've freed this valley!" Jet shouted.

"Who would be free, everyone would be dead." Sokka retorted.

"No," Jet said, looking down, "One Fire Nation will die today!"

I was turning to Appa, about to jump onto him, when I looked back at Jet. My eyes widened in horror when I saw a dagger fly through the air, from Jet's hand, straight towards me.

I screamed in pain and doubled over when the dagger embedded itself in my side, next to my hip.

"Kaida!" I heard someone yell, but I couldn't hear anything else through the roaring of pain in my ears. I held my hands to my side, trying to stop the bleeding, but it was no use.

My legs collapsed beneath me, and I felt the hard ground beneath me.

I closed my eyes, faced scrunched up in pain, and tried to keep my breathing steady, but it just came out in a pant.

I heard a mixture of shouts and noises around me, but couldn't decipher them. Then, arms lifted me up, careful to avoid my wound. I guessed it was Sokka, but kept me eyes closed until I could hear clearly again as the pain lessened a little.

"You worthless, filthy, evil, cruel-" I heard Katara screaming, then she was cut off by Aang.

"We have to get out of here Katara, we need to help Kaida."

"Kaida?" I opened my eyes a little and saw Sokka sitting beside me, my head in his lap. We were on Appa, in his saddle, and I could vaguely see Katara and Aang joining us.

"Sokka?" I asked weakly, but it hurt my side to talk.

"Shh, don't talk." He said, probably seeing the pain it took to speak.

I felt Appa take off below me, jolting me a little, which caused me to cry out again.

"We have to get the dagger out!" Katara said.

"But-" Sokka began.

"No buts! We have to do this soon or it's just get worse. Aang, can you get some bandages, some water and my sewing kit? Sokka, you hold her hand when I pull okay?" Katara said.

I looked around in panic, afraid of how much pain I was about to be in. Sokka grabbed my hand, and I saw Aang behind Katara who was on the other side of me, next to the injury.

"Bite down on this." She said, handing me some material. I bit down, promising myself not to scream.

"Okay." Katara said, "One," I snapped my eyes shut, "Two," I squeezed Sokka's hand, "Three!"

I could feel the dagger leave my side, and the pain was unbearable. I bit the material hard, trying not to scream, but a small squeal escaped. My pulse thundered in my ears, reminding me of the blood I was losing.

I panted when the knife was gone, and released my death grip on Sokka's hand a little. I sighed in relief that the pain had lessened.

I gasped slightly when I felt cool water on the wound, cleaning it. It hurt more at first but then the water soothed it.

Then I felt a sharp pinching in my skin. I was confused, but then remembered that Katara had asked Aang for her sewing kit, so she was probably sewing the skin together.

Thankfully the wound wasn't too wide, so it didn't take her long to finish. When she was done I lay back on the saddle, my breathing returning to normal.

"Thanks, Katara." I breathed, closing my eyes. I hadn't realized how tired I was.

"It's okay." She replied with a smile, "Should we stop? Then you can get some rest."

"No," I said, "The most important thing is getting to the North Pole, don't forget that."

"Okay. Well, get some sleep anyway."

I lay back and closed my eyes again, leaning against my sleeping bag. A blanket covered me, and I looked gratefully up at Sokka.

"Thanks."

"It's fine." He lay down on the other side of Appa's saddle, getting out his sleeping bag.

I curled up on my side, making sure I didn't hurt my cut. I fell asleep quickly, the throbbing in my side eventually dulling.


	12. Chapter 12

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Kidnapped

Kaida POV

My eyes fluttered open just as the sun began to rise. Yawning, I sat up, to be immediately ambushed by pain. Gasping, I bent over slightly, getting used to it. Eventually it returned to a faint throbbing.

"Are you okay?" I looked up and saw Katara standing on the ground next to Appa.

"Yeah, not too bad." I stood up, looking around. Appa had landed in clearing surrounded by a deep forest, and Aang and Sokka were still asleep in the saddle.

I jumped down, making sure not to hurt my side any more than it was. Katara had done a good job, but I would have to be careful.

I hated being careful, "Ugh! Damn you Jet! Damn you to the deepest pits of hell or whatever this world has in comparison!"

I walked over to Katara and she smiled, "You seem to be feeling better."

"I'm doing okay, my side just throbs a bit. I must have been lucky." I shrugged.

"You were, I'm glad you're all right." she knelt down by a small stack of wood, and began rubbing two pieces of kindling together from a pile Sokka had probably gathered earlier, when they arrived, trying to make a spark.

"What you making?" I asked, crouching beside her.

"Well, I was planning on cooking some soup, so that Aang wouldn't have to eat just fruit. I've got the vegetables, but I need a pot of water..."

"I'll get it!" I said standing up again. I felt like I'd been sleeping for ages, and wanted to stretch my legs.

She looked lie she was going to object, but changed her mind, "Okay, but be careful! I think there's a river over that way." she pointed to her left, into the trees.

"Here." Katara handed me the pot as I headed into the direction she had pointed, grabbing my swords and bag along the way. I wanted to be able to defend myself if I needed to.

The forest was empty as far as I could tell, and I could feel the water nearby. I guessed it was about twenty minutes away.

I heard the sound of rushing water ten minutes later, and spotted it after another five. It was a small river, more of a stream, but the water was clear and looked clean enough.

Shrugging my bag off onto the grassy floor, I knelt down beside the stream. I gazed down at my reflection and, noting how dirty my face was, bended a stream of water from the river and splashing myself, cleaning away as much as I could.

Tired after walking this far after sleeping for so long, I lay down in the grass, closing my eyes.

Letting my mind drift, I thought about what had happened to me since I came to this world. It'd been the most fun and adventure I'd ever had, but thinking of home made me slightly sad. I wondered if my family even missed me.

A _snap! _Brought me out of my thoughts. Jumping up, I grabbed my swords from my back and looked around, trying to identify where, and what, it came from.

I couldn't hear or see anything else, but didn't let my guard down. I figured that a firebender would be the worst threat. Concentrating, I cleared my mind and focussed on finding a flame. I almost gave up when I felt it.

The flame outlined a middle-aged man, standing around fifteen metres away. I looked his way, but he was hiding behind a tree.

Curious as to why he was here, I called out, "Look, I know you're there, and I know that you're a firebender, so you might as well come out before I make you."

There was a pause for a few seconds, and I felt the fire stop growing and shrinking as much, showing he was holding his breath. There was a small sigh, and the man finally walked out towards me. I held my position, but was startled when I saw his face and uniform when he stopped across the clearing.

"Lieutenant Jee?" I instantly recognized him. He had the golden eyes of the fire nation, and his sideburns and hair were grey. He had sparred with Zuko in 'The Waterbending Scroll', so I knew he was a capable firebender, though not as good as Zuko.

"H-How do you know my name?" He asked, eyes wide.

I bended the water from the stream and froze it around Jee, pinning his arms and legs so he couldn't move or bend. I ignored his question, "What are you doing here? And be honest, I'll know if you're lying." I said harshly; if Jee was here, so was Zuko.

I could feel him trying to heat up the ice, but it didn't work, and I smiled inwardly in success.

He sighed in defeat, "I'm here on Prince Zuko's orders." I held my bending position, still wary, "He told a group of soldiers and myself to search the woods."

"What for?" I asked, guessing it was Aang.

"For you." he nodded to me.

"What?" I was surprised, what did Zuko want _me_ for?

"The girl with the blue-black hair. He muttered something about pay-back after." I looked at him, a little confused as to why he was being so helpful.

"So _that's _what he meant!" I remembered the 'argument' we had at the Fire Temple.

If Zuko and his crew kept searching the forest, eventually he would find Aang, Katara and Sokka! It would be better to go with Jee, find out what Zuko wants, and hope that they had time to get away.

I recalled what I said yesterday, that getting Aang to the North Pole was the most important thing to do. I hope they took it seriously.

I sighed and melted the ice, bending the water back into the river. He stumbled a little without the ice holding him up, but righted himself quickly.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Ain't it obvious?" I rolled my eyes, then, walking a little closer but still keeping my distance. "I'm coming with you to Zuko."

"What? Why?" he asked, even more confused.

"Does it matter?" I snapped, "C'mon, where is scarface?"

"This way." he headed into the forest, thankfully away from the Gaang. I followed, nervous about if Zuko's crew would find them, but I wasn't worried about myself. I could take Zuko, but my stupid cut sure wouldn't help. I stopped to grab my bag, my broadswords already on my back.

We walked in silence, Jee occasionally glancing at me warily. Jee finally broke the silence, "So, how do you know my name?"

"Soz, Jee, but I don't really want to go into it." I replied, rubbing my temple. It felt like the start of a headache, and the pain in my side was increasing.

"What does 'soz' mean?" I rolled my eyes.

"It's an abbreviation of sorry." I explained.

"Oh."

It was silent for another ten minutes before I heard Zuko yelling a few yards away, in a clearing just past some trees, "What do you mean you can't find her! That stupid bison came down around here somewhere, and we'll search all day as well if we have too!"

I smirked, amused at how childlike he sounded. Was that really the 'Great and Powerful Prince Zuko'?

"Here," I turned away from Jee, hand behind my back, "I doubt he'll believe that I came with you out of my own free will."

He stood behind me and took my arms, though relatively loose, which I was grateful for. When we were at the edge of the clearing, Jee spoke up, "Sir, I found her."

He pushed me forwards, fakingly rough, and I fell to my hands and knees. I blew the hair out of my face and looked around. We were in a clearing, and to my right was a river, part of the stream I was at before. Zuko stood across from me, about twenty feet away, with Iroh at his right side. Behind them were a group of fifteen soldiers, each looking exhausted, soo I guessed they had been searching for me for a long time.

I looked at Zuko, who was smirking, and glared.

"What do you want?" I spat.

"Simple." he said, arrogantly, and stepped forward, "I'm going to kidnap you."

My eyes widened but I kept glaring.

"You and what army?" I stood up.

"Oh, I don't need one." He leaped forwards, shooting a fire blast at me, which I easily dodged.

"That all you got?"

He punched three consecutive fire balls at me, which I extinguished with the water from the river. I bended it around me, creating a shield.

He was getting visibly angrier, relying on his strength, "Don't you ever listen to your uncle? Firebending comes from the breath, not raw strength!" I lectured.

He paused in surprise, "And what would _you _know about firebending?" He bended a wall of fire at me, which I flipped over.

"A lot more than you, apparently."

I smirked when he yelled in rage, kicking a line of fire at me. I used a wall of ice to block, before melting it into a wave which I sent at him.

He blasted it apart with fire, and we both held our stances for a second, sizing each other up. I was on defence, keeping Zuko busy as long as possible, at least until the Gaang ((I'm gonna just put the gaang, instead of Sokka, Aang and Katara)) left. If I could do anything, I had to keep them safe.

Smirking, I decided to made the fight more interesting.

Unsheathing my swords, I got into position, watching Zuko's face. He looked a little surprised, but masked it.

I raised an eyebrow, challenging him. Zuko glared and grabbed a pair of broadswords from the nearest soldier.

I lunged forwards, aiming for his stomach. He jumped away, before for my leg. I flipped backwards, and attacked again, our swords clashing. He glared down at me, and I smirked back.

I jumped back, before swiping at his head, he ducked, and smirked at me.

"Missed." he taunted.

I grinned, "Look again."

He looked up at his head, and finally noticed that half his ponytail was missing.

He glared at me, "You _bitch!_" ((Lol Zuko loves his ponytail))

"What? I said you needed a haircut." He attacked me, this time making it very hard for me to dodge. We were pretty much evenly matched, but I was slower from the increasing pain in my side.

We fought for a few more minutes, both becoming slower, when I made my mistake. I lunged for his arm, forgetting to block my side. Zuko, being the gentleman he was (sarcastic), took advantage of that, swiping for my side.

Severing the stitches on my cut.

The pain overwhelmed me, it felt like my side was on fire! I fell to the ground as my legs wobbled and gave way, and a small yelp escaped my lips.

XxXx

Zuko POV

I smirked at the girl kneeling on the floor, just like the peasant should. But I was a little confused; the sword had barely touched her!

"Prince Zuko!" Uncle scolded.

I turned to him, "What?"

"I thought the point of this is to capture her, not to injure her!"

"But I-"

"Don't flatter yourself!" I looked back at the girl. Her eyes were shining with pain, and she looked like she was holding back tears.

"Guards, take her to the ship!" I ordered. Three men stepped forward, towards the girl, but paused when she started to stand. I watched curiously.

I almost gasped at the amount of blood staining her kimono, coming from her side. I was surprised she could even stand.

"No!" her voice was hoarse now, and she looked like she would collapse at any second. She bended water from the river shakily and span, turning the water into icicles, which pinned all of my soldiers to the trees in the clearing, leaving only Uncle and myself.

I watched as she collapsed again, this time she didn't look like she was going to get up any time soon. I sighed and stepped towards her, muttering, "If you want a job done right, you have to do it yourself."

I scooped her up in my arms, noting how light she was, and walked back to uncle.

XxXx

Kaida POV

I could hear Zuko and his uncle arguing, it sounded like Iroh was blaming Zuko for the gash in my side.

"Don't flatter yourself!" I glared at Zuko, trying not to show the pain I felt, but I could feel tears in my eyes.

"Guards, take her to the ship!" Zuko ordered. I looked around to see three soldiers approaching me.

Holding my breath, I slowly stood, grimacing as the pain intensified. I looked down to see my Kimono stained red with blood.

Groaning, I saw the soldiers pause, giving me time to waterbend. "No!" my voice was hoarse, and my legs shook from the effort to stand.

I bent the water from the river, pouring all my strength and concentration into it, and turned it into several icicles before launching it at Zuko's soldiers. It pinned them to the trees, halting them for now.

My knees buckled and I collapsed, my head swimming. I held onto my consciousness desperately.

I would have jumped when I felt warm arms surrounding me, but was too weak to move.

"Hey, get off me!" I tried to struggle, but my limbs felt like lead, and I was going numb.

"Ugh, what's happening?" my vision was going in and out of focus, but I could see Zuko's face above mine, staring ahead unemotionally.

Iroh appeared beside me, his face showing kindness and a little...regret?

"You seem to be suffering from severe blood loss." he explained.

"Oh, great. Damn you Jet! Damn you Zuko! Damn you...Spongebob!" my head was hurting from staying awake, and it felt like everything was getting muddled up in my mind.

"Who's 'Spongebob'?" Iroh asked.

"'He lives in a pineapple under the sea.'" I said in a sing-song voice.

I looked up to see Zuko _smiling! _Smiling!

"Iroh, I'm scared." I said.

"What about?" he asked, curious, "The fact Zuko is kidnapping you, or that you might never see your friends again?"

"Neither. Zuko _smiled!_"

Iroh chuckled softly, and Zuko glared at me, "I did not!"

"Did too."

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"DID NOT!"

"DID TOO!"

"DID NOT!"

"Whoa, chill." I could feel his arms and chest heating up.

"Did you just...tell a firebender... to chill!" Zuko was shaking in anger, heating up even more.

"Yeah, guess I did." I looked at his bald head, "You know, you look way hotter in season three."

That's when I let unconsciousness take me.


	13. Chapter 13

**Thanks for all of the reviews!**

**Please R&R!**

**Also, guess what I just found out! Kaida means little dragon in Japanese! I didn't even know that but it makes me love the name even more! Yay! Also, dragon is important later...**

**Oh, btw, I'm stretching the time between when Kaida gets on board and 'The storm'.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own A:TLA**

On board

Kaida POV

_Ugh, my head. _I opened my eyes to see a metal ceiling. _Where am I? _

I sat up, but regretted it. A sharp pain seared in my side, causing me to gasp in pain.

"Careful there, I've only bandaged that up."

I jumped and looked around. I was in an infirmary, on a small bed in the centre of the room. There was a bed on either side of me, and a desk with a set of drawers in the corner. Beside me was a man, probably the healer on the ship, dressed in plain red clothes with dark brown hair. He looked to be in his mid-twenties.

"Uh, who are you?" I asked, looked at him warily.

He smiled warmly and walked a little closer, so that he was beside the bed, "My name is Makoto, and I am the healer on Prince Zuko's ship. May I have a look at your wound?"

I nodded and turned my body slightly, so that he could unwrap the bandages. I grimaced when I looked down at it; the cut was even larger than before, thanks to Zuko, and hurt like hell.

I glanced up and saw Makoto bowing to someone, "General Iroh."

I looked across the room to see Iroh entering the room, smiling. "Makoto, I would like to talk to the...prisoner, if that's okay."

"Of course sir, let me just put the bandages on." The new bandages were cool and soothing, only stinging a little. When he was done, Makoto left the room.

I turned my attention to Iroh, "So, may I ask your name?" Iroh came closer and sat on a chair by me bed. I was a little surprised he was being nice to me.

"My name is Kaida." I said hesitantly.

"Ah, Little Dragon. That is a beautiful name." He smiled at me.

"Um, thanks." I said, "What's going to happen to me?"

He sighed, "My nephew plans to interrogate you, then to use you as bait."

"Well that won't work, I already told Aang and the others to go on without me. But I doubt that will stop Zuko."

"I agree." Iroh looked at me strangely for a second, then continued, "I will have to tell him you're awake soon, but first. Would you like some tea?"

"Definitely! I've always wanted to try your tea!" It was true, there was so many types of tea in this world, and Iroh knew all of them.

He beamed, "It is so nice to finally meet someone who likes tea! Everyone here either hates it or is too busy to enjoy it. I'll be right back."

Iroh left the room, leaving me to think about my situation. I was on Zuko's ship. In the middle of the ocean. With _Zuko. _

I groaned; I'd be lucky if I lasted a day.

Jee and Makoto seemed okay, and I knew that Iroh was kind. But when he said that Zuko wanted to interrogate me, did he mean interrogate, or torture.

No, I didn't care! I would never tell Zuko either way.

"I'm back!" I turned to see Iroh walking back in, carrying a tea-filled tray. He set it down on a table next to me, and sat down again, handing me a cup.

"This is Jasmine tea, one of my favourites."

I took a sip, savouring the delicious taste, "This is amazing! Thank you, General Iroh."

"No problem, and call me uncle." I smiled at him, being on this ship wouldn't be so bad with Iroh to talk to.

"Thank you, uncle."

"If you don't mind me asking, what nation are you from? You are a waterbender, but your hair is black?"

"Um, I'm not really from any nation." I replied, nervous. It would be sort of hard to explain.

He raised an eyebrow, curiosity clear on his face. I didn't know what to say, but I knew I could trust him.

I took a deep breath and began, "Well, firstly I'm from another world, where this is just a TV program. One night a spirit came and said I could come here, where I landed on Appa's, the flying bison's, saddle, and met Aang and the others."

But it ended up sounding like ' Well, firstlyI'mfromanotherworld,wherethisisjustaTVprogram. ,whereIlandedonAppa's, theflyingbison's, saddle, andmeAangandtheothers.

I think he understood because he nodded, then asked, "What's a TV?"

"Uncle!" I heard someone yell. It sounded like-

"Zuko!" Iroh called.

The door slammed open, banging off the wall. I was surprised it didn't fall off.

Steam was coming out of Zuko's ears, "What are you doing with the prisoner, uncle?"

I glared at him; I hated being called a prisoner.

"I was in fact having a nice cup of tea and a chat with her." Iroh explained calmly, "Won't you join us." I nearly chocked on my tea at that request.

"No, uncle!" Zuko yelled, he walked forward and grabbed my arm, "It's time to interrogate the prisoner."

He dragged me out of the door, whilst I did my best to ignore the pain in my side. I didn't fight; I knew I'd probably just end up fainting again from my stupid cut. Again, damn you Jet! Two soldiers flanked him, making sure I didn't escape. One was Jee, who smiled slightly at me, but the other I had never seen before kept an emotionless face. He looked to be around twenty, and had black hair and brown eyes. They were both dressed in armour.

I kept quiet and let him, listening to Iroh's footsteps following us. I had no idea where we were going, I hadn't seen an Interrogation room in any episode. I watched the back of Zuko's head, smirking when I saw the half ponytail.

I shielded my face as we went above deck, as the sun was shining in my eyes. I lowered it once I got used to the light, and looked around. The deck was empty, and the sea seemed to stretch on forever.

Zuko shoved me into a small room and into a metal chair, tying my wrists with metal straps to the armrests. I regarded him warily; what did he plan on doing? There was no way I would talk.

"Tell me where the Avatar is!" He growled from across the room.

"No." I said simply.

"Tell me where he is!" He strode forwards and gripped my forearms.

"No." I could feel my left arm heating up, but ignored it. Instead I glared at him, smirking at the desperation and anger in his eyes. Did he really think I was going tell him anything?

"If you talk, I'll let you go." he bargained, but I just rolled my eyes.

"Yeah right, like I'm gonna believe that. Anyway, the Avatar is way more important than me, and so is saving this world that _your _nation has almost destroyed." I replied defiantly.

"And what would a peasant like you know?"

"Oh, I know _everything._" I smirked at him. My arm was heating up more now, and it was unbearably hot. Maybe he planned on torturing me.

"You will tell me!"

"No!" I could feel the skin on my arm sizzling, and grimaced in pain. I locked the pain in abox in the back of my head, trying to not think about it.

"Ugh!" fire ignited from his hand, burning my arm, causing me to yelp and close my eyes tightly.

"Prince Zuko!" I sighed in relief when Zuko stepped back, slouching in my chair. Thank God for Iroh.

"What!" Zuko yelled at him.

"I thought you were questioning her, not torture!" Iroh scolded.

"I will do what I want! I'm going to train!" I heard him leave the room, his boots stomping on the metal floor. I kept my eyes on the floor, trying to take deep breaths.

"You poor thing!" Iroh exclaimed as he unstrapped my wrists and examined the burn. I looked to and winced at how red and raw it looked. It would definitely leave a mark.

_Wow, thanks Zuko._

"I'll get some water." Iroh returned less than a minute later, holding a bowl of water. I stood and bended the water from the bowl and held it against the burn, gasping at how cold it felt.

My eyes widened when the water started to glow a light blue. I watched in surprise as the burn faded and finally disappearing, taking with it the pain.

"Whoa."

The act drained me, but I looked down at my cut and decided it couldn't do any harm. Carefully undoing the bandages, I put the water to it, wincing at the blood surrounding it. The cut itself seemed to be healing slowly, but it would still take a long time, weeks at least.

There was no way I was waiting that long.

Putting the water to it, I concentrated on healing it. The pain increased for a second, but then it disappeared, like the burn. I pulled my trousers up over my hips again, (I was wearing my Earth Kingdom crop top and baggy pants) then looked at Iroh's shocked face.

I chucked, "Well, that's new." Then collapsed into the chair. I was still weak from the loss of blood, and healing certainly drained my strength.

"Let's get you back to the infirmary." Iroh said, before calling, "Torao!" the man who had guarded me with Jee entered, "Help miss Kaida back to the infirmary."

Torao put his arm gently around my waist and helped me up, "Yes sir." he replied.

Iroh left the room with a nod to me, "I will see you later, miss Kaida."

"Thank you." he smiled and continued on his way.

The walk back to the infirmary was slow and tiring, but Torao carried most of my weight. As we crossed the deck I tried to hurry to avoid Zuko, luckily he was too absorbed in his training to notice me.

When we were below deck, Torao spoke, "So, what's your name?"

"I'm Kaida." I replied.

"That's a nice name, I'm Torao. If I can ask, why are you Prince Zuko's prisoner?"

I was curious as to why he was being polite, but still answered, "Well, I was travelling with the avatar, Zuko kidnapped me, and now he wants to know where the avatar is going. I know but there is no way I'm going to tell him."

He looked down at me, being a bit taller than Zuko, "It would be better for you if you just tell him."

"I know, but what's more important? My measly life or the world?" I asked.

"Is there another option?"

I laughed, Torao seemed like a nice guy, and I don't think I've seen him in any of the episode's.

We arrived at the infirmary just then, so I didn't have time to reply. Torao helped me to the bed I was on earlier, and I eagerly hopped into it, grateful that my side and burn were healed. I slipped under the covers, looking forward to a long nap.

"Thanks Torao." I said, eyes closing.

"Call me Ray." ((Tor-ray-oh))

"Thanks... Ray."

XxXx

"Ah, I see you're awake."

I was sitting in the bed, having woken up a few moments ago. Makoto walked over to me.

"General Iroh informed me of your healing, and has requested you join him for dinner." he told me.

I swung my legs over the side of the bed and groaned, "Ugh, I'm guessing Prince moron will be there too."

Makoto laughed, "Prince Zuko will be there, but I think the General told him to be on his best behaviour."

I looked at him quizzically, "What? Why?"

"The general told me, and I personally recall, earlier Prince Zuko yelling about 'Prisoners' and 'behaviour'. He then took his anger out on Lieutenant Jee in a spar."

"Oh, poor Jee."

"He's okay, just some minor burns. Now, we better get you out of those clothes..."

I looked down at the blood-stained material, ((Oh, I know I wrote that she was wearing a Kimono, but I like the earth kingdom clothes better at the moment)) and nodded.

"I think I might be able to find something."

"Wait!" I remembered my bag; it had clothes from all nations, "Do you know where my bag is? It has some Fire nation clothes."

"Satoru brought back your bag and swords, I'll go get them." He left the room and I jumped out of the bed. I wondered what medicines they had here, I knew it wasn't as advanced as back in my world, but it would be interesting to have a look.

By the drawers was a rack, filled with small bottles with labels on them. I took out one called Belurin. Underneath it said what it was used for; soothing burns.

I looked at all the different types of medicine, I was halfway down the rack when Makoto came back.

"Here you go." He handed me the bag and checked everything was still there. "Don't worry, no-one went through it, and I trust you don't have any weapons in there. Unfortunately, Prince Zuko wouldn't let you have your swords."

"That's okay, thanks." I hunted through my bag, taking out a Fire nation dress. It was quite plain, a deep red with a white sash.

"I'll leave you to get changed."

when I put the dress on, it reached my knees and had slits up the sides, so I wore a pair of black leggings underneath. I was surprised it fit me, and thanked Yue for all the clothes.

I put my hair up in a messy bun, as my braid had come apart and I couldn't be bothered to fix it. When I was done I opened the door to see Makoto waiting outside with Ray.

"This way." Makoto walked slightly ahead whilst I was next to Ray.

"You look nice." Ray complimented.

I blushed slightly; no-one ever said I looked nice in my own world. "Thanks."

"We're here." Makoto, opened the door and I walked in, a little nervously. I mean, I was about to have dinner with the crazy guy who kidnapped me!

"Kaida! I'm glad you could come." Iroh said, and I looked over at him. He was kneeling on a pillow behind a low table filled with food, such as rice and dumplings. I knelt down beside Iroh and pointedly ignored Zuko, who was sitting across from me.

"Would you like some rice?" Iroh passed me the bowl of rice and I put some on my plate.

"Thanks."

XxXx

Zuko POV

I couldn't _believe _uncle was forcing me to have dinner with him and that peasant! She was my prisoner for Agni's sake! She should be in the prison hold!

I had argued with uncle over that fact, but he reminded me that there was only one cell, which would be used for the avatar if I ever managed to capture him.

Uncle even had the nerve to tell me to behave! _Behave! _She was my prisoner, not my guest, and uncle seemed to have formed an attachment for her, telling me that I shouldn't have hurt her.

It didn't matter anyway, I could tell she wasn't going to talk. But I could still use her as bait.

When she walked in, I couldn't control the thoughts running through my head, _Wow, she looks beautiful. _She wore a plain red dress, but the material hugged her curves in the right way, so that it complimented her but was not sluttish. Her tan arms were bare and her shimmering blue-black hair up in a bun.

Wait, what! She's a prisoner, a peasant!

_But she's pretty..._

What! No she is not! She is just a plain, boring, water tribe peasant.

_You know you're lying..._

Ugh! Shut up!

I paid attention long enough to hear uncle call her Kaida.

_That's a cute name._

I frowned but chose to ignore that particular unwanted thought.

I noticed she was pointedly ignoring me, not even looking in my direction. My anger grew for a second, but then I realized anyone would act like that if they were in her position. But why was she polite and reasonable to uncle?

_Maybe because he's nice to her._

SHUT UP!

XxXx

Kaida POV

The meal was nearly finished, none of us saying a word until Iroh spoke, "So, Prince Zuko." I finally glanced at him, glad that he was looking at Iroh.

"Yes, uncle?" Seriously, how could they be related?

"Well, I was thinking, since miss Kaida will be staying for... a while, she will need some place to sleep."

"She can stay in the infirmary." I hated how Zuko was talking like I wasn't even there, but personally I agreed with him. What was Iroh getting at?

"But we need to keep the beds open in case one of the crew is hurt."

"So where do you propose she stays?" Zuko said, crossing his arms. I crossed mine and didn't miss the look of irritation on his face, keeping in a laugh.

"With you, Prince Zuko!"

"WHAT!" Zuko and I both jumped up at the same time.

"Why would I stay with that idiotic, moronic, thick-headed creep!" I yelled.

"Hey! Like I would want a stupid, filthy peasant any where near me." I glared at Zuko.

"This is YOUR fault! Your the one who frickin' kidnapped me!"

"Why, You-!"

"Now, now. Settle down." I closed my eyes and calmed down at Iroh's words, taking in a deep breath before sitting. I could feel Zuko glaring at me for a few seconds, then he too sat.

"Look, this is only until we stop at the next port, then we can get her a bed and put her in the spare room next to ours." Iroh said calmly.

"Fine!" Zuko stood up again, about to leave the room when he scowled back at me, "Well, you coming?"

"If I have to." I followed him out the door, stopping to glare at Iroh, who was sniggering quietly, "You are so gonna get it uncle." I turned and sped after Zuko, who had already turned down another hall. I had to run to catch up, but didn't say anything to Zuko.

We stopped outside his door, and spotting the double bed in the centre of the room, at the back, I couldn't help but laugh when we went inside, a memory suddenly coming to mind.

Zuko looked at me like I was crazy, but I could see a spark of amusement in his eyes, "What are you laughing at?"

"You got owned by a mattress!" I burst out laughing again at the look of shock on his face.

"How do you know about that! And I did not!" Zuko lied.

"Oh yes you did!" I was able to breathe again, "When you 'captured' Aang at the South Pole, he escaped, you ambushed him in here, and he attacked you with _your _mattress." I grinned at his expression, it was a mixture of fury, shock and embarrassment.

"Ugh!" he practically ran from the room, only widening my grin.

I walked out the door and down some stairs, towards the infirmary. Stepping in I saw that no-one was there, so I found my bag on the bed I had used earlier. Picking it up, I turned back to the door and left, heading back to Zuko's room.

He still wasn't there when I got back, so I quickly changed into more comfortable water tribe clothes. I smiled at how much the blue contrasted with the dull red room.

Throwing my bag in the corner, I sat on the bed, trying not to freak over the situation. There was no way I could get off this ship, and even if I did, where did I go? I had no idea where the gaang was, or even how to get to them.

I lay down under the covers, closing my eyes and quickly falling asleep.


	14. Chapter 14

**Thank you for the reviews! They make me very happy! XD**

**Also, if any1 would like to draw Kaida, please tell me! I'm crap at drawing! lol**

**Little fact: Makoto means sincerity**

**Torao means Tiger**

**Ren means correct**

**Oh, this chapter is a bit weird 'cause I had MAJOR writers block. Sorry!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own A:TLA for the...(Counts fingers) 14th time!**

Firebending 14

Kaida POV

Waking up, I'd never felt so warm. For a second I snuggled into the warmth, before realizing where it came from.

I almost jumped out of my skin when I saw Zuko's face right in front of mine, his arm draped across my waist.

"What the hell are you doing?" I was about to scream, but stopped at the peaceful look on Zuko's face. The blank or angry look had gone, he looked more like the happy kid he had been before Ozai ruined his life.

His face contorted into one of pain, and he started muttering, "No, mom, don't go..." he pulled me tighter to his chest, and I couldn't help but notice how muscly his bare chest was. I felt a pang of sadness, remembering how Zuko's mother had to leave him when he was only ten.

_Aww, he looks so cute!_

What! No he doesn't! I need to get out of this...

"Zuko, wake up." I gently shook him. When he didn't move, instead pulling me closer, I decided drastic times called for drastic measures.

"Zuko, wake up!" I yelled, shoving him at the same time. He yelped and rolled away, off the bed.

Unfortunately bringing me with him.

He lay on top of me for a second, looking at me in shock, before shouting, "What was that for?"

"If you hadn't noticed, you're kinda on top of me, and it's getting hard to breathe!" I managed to get out

"Oh." he stood up, whilst I sat up and caught my breath on the floor. I stood up and glared at him.

"The reason I pushed you was because you had your arm around my waist!"

Zuko blushed slightly but then replied, indignant, "I did not!"

"Whatever!" I walked over to my pack, taking out a red crop top and baggy pants, perfect for training. I turned and raised an eyebrow at Zuko, "Would you mind leaving whilst I get changed?"

"Oh." he grabbed his shirt and left the room, probably going to meditate or something.

I changed quickly, putting my other clothes in my bag, before walking out of the room. Torao was there, politely waiting.

"I have been ordered to stay with you, and to make sure you don't escape." he explained apologetically.

"Oh, okay. I was just gonna go up to the deck."

After a minute Torao asked, "So how was your night with Prince Zuko." he smirked at me.

I glared and replied, "I barely even talked to him."

"Then why was he blushing when he came out?" he grinned at me.

"How do I know? He's just an hot-headed idiot."

"Of course." He said sarcastically.

"Ugh!" I walked faster, leaving a laughing Torao behind.

I walked out onto the deck. Two soldiers were sparing, so I sat and watched for a while.

"There you are!" I looked over my shoulder to see Iroh heading towards me.

"Hi, uncle." I said, when he came up beside me.

"Would you like to have some breakfast with me? Zuko won't be there." he added at the slightly wary look on my face.

My stomach rumbled and I smiled, "Sure, thanks."

I followed him up to the helm, where a man stood at the wheel. In front of him was a map of all the nations, and a chart of where Aang had been. From looking at the map, the gaang looked pretty untrackable.

There was a Pai Sho table, and beside it was another table filled with fruit. Iroh sat down on one side of it, and motioned for me to copy him.

I looked at the food, a little confused. Some looked like the ones back home, whilst others I had no idea what it was.

I kept looking, and found something that seemed to be a peach, then took a bite. It tasted like a peach, but was a little sweeter. Iroh was also eating one, before he tucked into some kind of pineapple-y thing.

"When you are finished, would you like to join me for a game of Pai Sho." he asked.

"Sure, but I have no idea how to play." I admitted.

He smiled, "Well I would love to teach you!"

XxXx

Turns out Pai Sho wasn't as fun as I thought it would be.

"Ugh! I don't get this game!" I had lost for the hundredth time, and my patience was all but gone.

"You are improving, little dragon." Iroh reassured.

"No I'm not! I'm gonna have a break." I sighed and headed out the door, towards deck. The two men had finished sparing, so the deck was empty. Perfect.

I bended the water from the ocean, creating walls of water that reached up the side of the boat and higher, above my head. Moving from side to side, I bended the water to match my movements. I let out the breath I didn't realize I'd been holding, calming down. Waterbending always has that effect on me.

"What are you doing?" I jumped at the voice behind me, dropping the water.

Turning, I glared at Zuko, "I'm on a top secret job at the FBI."

I rolled my eyes at his dumb-struck expression, "I'm joking. What do you want, Zuzu?"

His face turned red and steam came out of his ears, "How do you know about that name! Don't call me that! It's Prince Zuko to you, peasant!"

"Quit with the peasant talk, Zuzu!" I crossed my arms, "If I call you Prince Zuko, then you call me Princess Kaida the Awesome ."

"What! No way!"

I failed to notice that the crew had gathered around us, "How 'bout this. I call you Zuko, you call me Kaida. Deal?"

"Fine!" he yelled, storming of, pushing past me.

"Fine!" I kicked him in the shin, smirking at his cry of pain, then ran downstairs.

I had no idea where to go, so headed for the infirmary. The door slammed slightly when I entered, making Makoto, who was in the room bandaging a burn on one of the men who had been sparing earlier, jump.

I smiled sheepishly at him, "Sorry."

"That's okay. What's wrong?" he finished the bandage and turned to face me.

"I just had a big argument with Zuko." I sat down on the edge of an empty bed.

"Oh, are you hurt?"

"No, I'm fine." I grinned, "But I hope Zuko isn't."

Makoto looked at me confused, "What do you mean?" he was putting away some medicine on the rack.

"I kicked him in the shin." I looked up in surprise as Makoto and the other man gasped.

"You did? And he didn't kill you?" the burnt man asked.

"Do I look dead?" I laughed at their shocked expressions.

"No..."

"May I ask what this argument was about?" Makoto asked.

"Um, he kept calling me peasant, and it was really annoying..."

They both burst out laughing, and I was a bit embarrassed; it did sound like a stupid reason if you thought about it.

"Well, he must really like you if you're still alive." the man teased.

"What!" I blushed, remembering what happened early that morning when I woke up, "As if!"

"Just ignore Ren." Makoto said. I nodded and stood up, glaring a little at Ren who just smirked. He looked a little younger than Makoto, with brown hair and brown eyes.

I went to leave, but stopped, "Hey, Ren." he looked over at me, "I found out yesterday that I can use my waterbending for healing, and I'm not very good yet, but I could have a go at that burn for you." I offered.

He smiled, "That would be great! Makoto?" Makoto nodded to us and began unwrapping the bandage on his arm.

I observed the burn; it was quite small, and not as bad as the one Zuko gave me, where there was still a small mark in the shape of Zuko's hand. Bending the water against Ren's burn, I heard him gasp, and knew that the pain would increase at first. Soon the burn was completely gone, and it didn't seem as hard as the first time.

Ren grinned at me, "Thanks."

"No problem."

"Kaida?"

I turned back to Makoto, "Yeah?"

"Since you're aloud out of your room, would you like to work here? It will make my job a lot easier, and I'm sure General Iroh will agree."

I was surprised that Makoto and Iroh trusted me enough to let me look after the crew. I mean, I could poison them or something, not that I would do that.

"Sure, that would be great!" I replied, it was better than just staying in my room, and Zuko couldn't argue with it since Iroh agreed. "But, I don't think the crew would agree with it."

"Why not?" Makoto asked.

"Well shouldn't you guys hate me? I am a prisoner."

"The way I see it, you haven't done anything to myself or the crew, so we have no reason to."

"Oh, okay. Thanks!" I grinned, it would be good to use my new found healing.

XxXx

Zuko POV

"What! You're giving her a job!" I yelled at Uncle. I couldn't understand him, first he convinces me to let Kaida out of her room, then he gives her a job!

"Well, my nephew. When you...er...'questioned' her, she found out she could heal with her waterbending." Uncle explained. We were on deck, and he had decided to explain whilst I was training, ruining my focus.

"But she's a _prisoner_!" I exclaimed.

"Makoto, the healer, has agreed, and she even healed one of the crew after your...argument."

My shin ached slightly, remembering how she had kicked me. I had been limping for most of the afternoon after that. I kicked a ball of fire, letting out my anger.

"Fine! But make sure someone is watching her at all times! I don't want her escaping or harming one of the crew!"

The next day...

Kaida POV

Dinner was uneventful, and we ate in silence. This morning, Zuko was gone before I woke up, which I was grateful for. Today I would be starting my new job.

I headed straight for the infirmary when I was dressed, not sure what I was supposed to do. Thankfully Makoto was there to explain.

"We don't usually get many injuries on the ship, mostly they are from Zuko sparing the crew." He led me to the rack, and explained what the different bottles had in them, and what they did.

"I understand that you will be able to heal some of the wounds, but General Iroh told me to make sure you didn't exert yourself."

"I's be careful." I assured.

At about twelve, Makoto sent me out for a break.

I climbed another set of stairs, so that I was just below deck, and was joined by Iroh.

"Ah, Kaida. I heard you had an...argument with my nephew yesterday."

"Oh, sorry uncle. It's just he is such an arrogant, selfish-"

Iroh interrupted me, "Trust me, I know. I'm surprised you're still alive." he joked, "He must like you."

"What!" I stomped my foot. Afterwards, I couldn't believe I did that. "Why do people keep saying that!"

Iroh rose an eyebrow, "Others have said this?"

"Doesn't matter." I grumbled, even more irritated. Thankfully, before Iroh could say anything else, we heard a crash from the deck, followed by a lot of shouting.

"What on earth is that?"

"I believe _that _is my nephew." Iroh sighed, as we both went up the stairs to the deck.

"What do you mean you can't find the avatar! He's around here somewhere!" Zuko yelled just as we were at the top.

He was shirtless, so I guessed he had been training with an unlucky crew member. Looking across the deck, I spotted a man crouching, holding his shoulder, the shirt badly singed. Looking back at Zuko, there was fire erupting from his knuckles and steam coming out of his ears.

Sighing, I walked over to him, ignoring the heat coming from him.

"Yo, Princess!" He stopped and glared at me, and I walked forwards until I was right in front of him.

"What?" he spat.

"This!" I pulled my arm back, then punched the unscarred side of his face as hard as I could. He stumbled backwards, shocked, and I stepped back to observe the effects.

XxXx

Torao POV

I heard yelling on deck from my place in the helm, and ran down to see what it was.

Prince Zuko was practically screaming at another member of the crew, but I wasn't sure who it was. I figured he was still pissed over the argument he had with Kaida yesterday, and it was over such a stupid subject, although I was pleased someone finally stood up to the arrogant Prince.

I had heard Kaida was also now working in the infirmary, so I'm sure that didn't help his mood.

Prince Zuko's hands where ablaze, and he was yelling something about the Avatar. _Of course, he's obsessed with that poor kid._

Most of the crew gathered around him, though warily from a distance.

"Yo, Princess." All of us turned to look at who would dare talk to the Prince like that.

I gasped when I saw it was Kaida. What was she _doing!_

"What?" I flinched at the venom in Prince Zuko's voice. He sounded like he was going to kill her.

"This!" I watched in shock when Kaida punched him on his unscarred cheek, and I heard a distinct _crack!_

He stumbled backwards, looking shocked, whilst Kaida just stepped back looking calm.

"What is she _doing?_" I hissed.

Iroh stood next to me, "I believe she's punching some sense into him."

_This is not going to be pretty._

Kaida POV

I watched as Zuko stood up again, still shocked, "What was that for?"

"Well, it got you out of your temper tantrum." I answered, matter-of-factly. His face reddened in fury, his hands igniting again, "Or maaaybe it got you into a new one."

He yelled in rage, before shooting a fire ball at me.

I didn't have time to react, and couldn't dodge because he was too close. Instead I closed my eyes and waited for the impact. But my body seemed to act of it's own accord.

My arms stretched out in front of me, and I opened my eyes again to watch. I span in a circle, and the ball followed my arms, growing and the inside becoming lighter until I faced Zuko again.

The ball flew from my hands, slamming into a shocked Zuko and knocking him to the ground.

I stared at my hands, not believing it. I shot two more into the sky, checking it was real. Then I just stood there., "Whoa."

"You're a fire bender?" Zuko looked even angrier, but I had no idea why. I looked at my hands again, in a state of shock. "Answer me!"

"Prince Zuko!" I looked up just in time to see Zuko's fist an inch away from my face, with Iroh holding his arm, stopping him from hitting me. Torao stood at Iroh's side, glaring at Zuko.

I jumped back, finally coming to my senses. "What the hell! I just found out I'm a firebender, so you try to hit me! You're messed up!" I yelled, ready to punch him again. His cheek was already a deep pink colour.

"Kaida!" Torao held my forearms.

"What?" I shouted.

"Calm. Down."

I closed my eyes, trying to calm and sort the thoughts in my head. I just didn't understand. How could I be a waterbender _and _a firebender? It just didn't make sense. The only person who could bend more than one element was the avatar, and I certainly wasn't one. I wished I could ask Yue, but I didn't know how to.

"Sir!" A man ran across the ship, towards Zuko.

"What?"

"There's been a sighting of the avatar on Dioshu Island, sir." the man told him, looking like he wanted to run for his life. I didn't blame him.

"Set a course for Dioshu Island!" Zuko ordered.

I sighed in relief; this island must have a port, and I'd get my own bed. I forgot about the whole firebending thing, and headed over to the man Zuko had burned. He looked up at me warily, but I just smiled.

"Can I have a look at your burn?" I asked, kneeling beside him. I noticed that Torao had followed me, but ignored him. The man pulled the material covering his shoulder down, and I saw a large burn, worse than Ren's.

I bended the water from the ocean and held it against the burn, "This is gonna hurt." I warned, and the man just nodded.

The water glowed blue, then faded away, taking with it the burn, "There." I stood up, smiling a little, even though I felt really tired.

"Thanks." I nodded to him as he too stood, then headed below deck, probably to get a new shirt.

I turned back to Iroh and Zuko, to see Zuko staring at me in shock, "What?"

"Y-you just...healed him..." Zuko stuttered.

"Yeeaah. Didn't Iroh tell you?" Talk about conflicting emotions.

He glared at me before turning to the crew who were still watching, "Men! Get back to your posts! Prepare the Komodo-Rhinos!"

He stalked off below deck, leaving me, Iroh and Torao standing there, "Uncle? Why did he react like that?"

Iroh sighed, "I think he is just confused."

I threw my arms up, probably looking like an idiot, "Confused? He blew up at me!"

"But that is just how Prince Zuko is. When he is confused, he gets angry."

I looked at him sceptically, and he smiled, "How about this; whilst Prince Zuko is away, I'll teach you firebending."

"Really!" I wanted to know how to bend fire, even if it confused me.

"Of course. Now, we will be arriving soon, but I suggest you stay out of his way until then."

I rolled my eyes, "Sure, sure."

Time gap

I spent the rest of the day learning about medicines in the infirmary. It reminded me of school, I even had to take an exam.

"So, what is Adisum used for?" Makoto asked.

"As a painkiller." I recited.

"Vidoite?"

"Soothes headaches."

"Sodest?"

"Healing broken bones."

"Very good, you learn fast."

"Thanks."

I almost fell over when the ship jolted to a stop, and guessed we were at the port, "I'm gonna find Iroh."

"See you later." Makoto started putting away the bottles as I walked out the room, to the deck. I didn't pass anyone on the way, most of the soldiers had gone with Zuko, leaving only a quarter of the crew.

I didn't think the gaang had stopped at this island, as it wasn't in any of the episodes, but it was becoming harder to remember what would happen next. When I tried to think about the future, it became a bit fuzzy, but the past was still clear. I could remember a few important things, like how they were going to the North Pole, and sometimes other details.

The deck was empty except for Iroh, who was standing in the middle. The port was only a small one, with only a couple of other boats that looked tiny compared to Zuko's ship, and there was a village behind.

I walked over to Iroh, stopping a short distance away, "Ah, Kaida. Are you ready for your lesson?"

I smiled, "Yep."

"Good. First, we will work on stances, copy me." He slid into a simple bending stance, feet apart and arms tucked in. I copied him.

"Very good. Now, remember, the power comes from the breath, but I'm sure you know that."

I breathed deeply, keeping the breathes slow and long.

"Now, I would like to see how much power you have at this stage. When you step forward, breathe out and picture the breath as fire, coming from your fist." he demonstrated, letting out a large, deep red flame. "You try."

I breathed in, preparing myself, and stepped forward, producing a flame. I was shocked at the size; it was twice as tall as Iroh, and was around ten metres long. I focussed on the flame, giving it all I had, and let it grow until it was twice the size it had been.

"Remember, use your breath. Try to increase the heat." I breathed in and out deeply again, this time increasing the heat.

It started out a typical red, but slowly changed to a blue. I kept trying, wanting to do my best, and the inside became a boiling white, the outside a light purple.

I let the flame diminish, panting a little. I turned to Iroh, who looked surprised, "My, that has to be one of the most powerful flames I have ever seen someone do first try. It may even be more powerful than a firebender who has been training for years."

"Really?" I beamed.

"Yes, especially the colour. Azula's, my niece, flame is blue in colour, but I have never seen white. Now, try to copy this sequence."

Time Gap

I collapsed on my new bed, in my new room. Whilst I was training with Iroh, Torao, Ren and a few other crew members had gone into the village to get the furniture for my room. The bed was king size, bigger than Zuko's, and the covers were a bright red.

There was also a writing desk and chair, with a full length mirror hanging next to it. On the wall was a fire nation hanging, but also a water nation one, and Iroh told me Torao had picked them.

In the corner was a plain wooden wardrobe, a few red training clothes in it. I kept my bag on the floor of the wardrobe, but didn't unpack.

I hadn't realized how exhausting firebending could be, it was harder than waterbending anyway. I still enjoyed it, and I learned a lot from Iroh. He taught me various forms, ranging from kicks to walls, until late that night.

Zuko still hadn't returned, and I was curious what was happening. I managed to remember that the gaang would be in the Great Divide at the moment, so it must have been a false alarm.

I shut my eyes, welcoming sleep.


	15. Chapter 15

**Thank you for the reviews!**

**Btw, the crew are nice to Kaida because she listens to them going on about their lives, and heals them.**

**I am really bad at describing things, if you hadn't noticed :)**

**Also, I had writers block AGAIN! Lmao**

The Storm

Kaida POV

Over the next couple of days I healed and was on good terms with most of the men on board, minus Zuko of course, though we were getting on a little better. And by that, I meant we weren't constantly arguing.

He returned the day after I started training with Iroh, so when Zuko was busy Iroh would hand me scrolls to practice from, or teach me when Zuko was meditating.

The crew, surprisingly, never said anything to him, and when I asked why, they just said I was part of the crew now.

When I was healing them they told me about themselves, about their lives and families. Most sounded like they had been forced to go on this voyage and couldn't wait to go home. I found out that Torao had a wife and a four year old girl back in the fire nation. He told me that his wife sent him a letter saying that his daughter had shown the first signs of being a firebender, and when he got back he planned on teaching her.

I found learning firebending a lot harder than waterbending, they were complete opposites. I had the moves right, it was just getting the power behind them. Iroh told me I needed something to motivate me, but the only thing I could think of was keeping the gaang safe, but I couldn't do that from the ship.

I watched Iroh train Zuko, hoping to pick up any tips. He was running over a drill, bending two jets of fire, then a round-house kick.

Zuko was getting more and more frustrated, messing up the moves. "Prince Zuko, you are not breathing!"

"Hey Zuko!" I stepped nearer, so that I was at Iroh's side. I needed to practise, and who better to practise with?

"What!" he spat.

I rolled my eyes, "I was just gonna ask if you wanted to spar."

"And why would I want to spar with a peasant like you?" he sneered.

"Fine, if you think you can't take me." I teased, crossing my arms.

His glared at me and his fists lit.

_Ahh, how fun it is to annoy Zuko._

"I can take you."

I slid into a firebending stance, one arm tucked in and the other outstretched, "Bring it."

He shot two fire balls at me, which I deflected. He was stronger than me, and had the drive I lacked, but I knew all his moves. I was successful in blocking each hit, using my agility to my advantage, but got a couple of burns, which I returned.

Zuko was also very agile, but wasn't cautious or calculating. He was a much better firebender than me, his fire more powerful, so I took to bending his own fire against him, parting a large wall he sent at me.

I knew I was losing, dodging and blocking getting harder, but he too was tiring.

When he was close enough, I punched him in the stomach. He stumbled a little before kicking my leg, knocking me to the floor. I caught myself, resting with my hands under me, like a sit-up.

I jumped up, then tackled him to the floor, landing on top of him. Holding his arms above his head so he couldn't fight back, I grinned at him panting below me, catching my breath too.

"I win."

"Not quite."

I gasped in surprise as he yanked his hands out of my grasp, rolling over and pinning me to the ground with his weight. His face was centimetres away from my own, our noses almost touching, smiling at me. I was suddenly very conscious of his bare chest pressed against my thin training crop top.

I tried to say something, but instead inhaled his smoky scent. His eyes were a deep, clear gold, and I felt like I could look at them forever.

Zuko POV

I smiled down at Kaida in victory, glad that I had won. She had almost beat me, but I was stronger than her.

I gazed into her eyes, not failing to notice how close we were. My heart sped up as I took in their beautiful sapphire colour, like the ocean, that sparkled as I admired them.

"Ahem."

I glanced to my left, and felt Kaida shift to do the same. Iroh looked at me quizzically, but I just stared back, a little confused, before realizing how it looked; me straddling Kaida on the floor.

My eyes widened and I jumped up, trying to hide the blush that stood out on my pale cheeks. Kaida still lay on the floor, so I stuck my hand out stiffly, looking away. She grasped it and I pulled her up, careful not to get too close.

I scanned her face, noting her blush and how she was avoiding my eyes. I rolled my own, but my blush deepened slightly.

"Uh, I'm gonna go...practise my waterbending!" she span around and headed to the opposite side of the ship. My eyes followed her graceful movements, for once not thinking of her as 'peasant' or 'prisoner'.

Kaida POV

I could feel my face burning but tried to ignore it, concentrating instead on the feel of the water as I bended it around me. I didn't know why I felt so embarrassed, I mean, it's _Zuko._ But I'd never been that close to a boy before, and just thinking about it gave me butterflies.

I shook my head to clear it, practising my water whip. I span and twisted the water, striking the air. I did this a few more times before tossing the water over board.

I walked to stand with Iroh and Zuko, ignoring Zuko watching me He took out a telescope, probably trying to spot Appa, when Iroh sniffed the air, "There is a storm coming, a big one."

Zuko lowered his telescope, "You're out of your mind, Uncle. The weather's perfect. There is not a cloud in sight."

He was right, about the weather part at least. The sky was a perfect blue, but you could see a sort of mist on the horizon, "The calm before the storm." I muttered, ignoring the glare from Zuko.

"The storm is approaching from the north. I suggest we alter our course and head southwest." Iroh said.

"We know the Avatar is travelling northward, so we will do the same."

"Prince Zuko, consider the safety of the crew."

"The safety of the crew doesn't matter!" Zuko said, not noticing Jee until he was behind him.

"Good move, Princess." I said, sarcastically.

"Finding the Avatar is far more important than any individual's safety." Zuko said at Jee's raised eyebrow, walking over to intimidate him. When Zuko was finished he went inside again.

Iroh and I walked over to Jee, "He doesn't mean that, he's just all worked up." Iroh assured.

XxXx

Four members of the crew had gathered on deck, including Jee. I stood beside Iroh when he and Zuko joined us.

"Uh! Looks like your uncle was right about the storm after all." Jee said, arms crossed.

_This can't be good._

"Lucky guess." Iroh said.

"Lieutenant, you'd better learn some respect," he crossed over to him, and pointed at Jee's chest with two fingers, "Or I will teach it to you."

He turned and walked away, towards the front of the ship.

"What do you know about respect? The way you talk to everyone around here, from your hard working crew to your esteemed uncle shows you know nothing about respect. You don't care about anyone but yourself! Then again, what should I expect from a spoiled prince?" Jee retorted.

Zuko had stopped mid-step. When Jee finished, Zuko span round, resuming a firebending stance. He was clearly stung by the accusations, but hid it behind an emotionless mask.

Jee copied him, and they crossed wrists, their wrist guards clashing.

I jumped between them and shoved them apart, "Guys! Stop! This isn't going to help anything." I looked at both their faces, they were glaring at each other, but at least weren't fighting.

"Kaida is right." Iroh stood slightly behind me, "We are all a bit tired from being at sea so long. I'm sure after a bowl of noodles everyone will feel much better."

Jee walked away, and Zuko turned to face the storm, "I don't need your help keeping order on my ship."

Iroh placed a hand on Zuko's shoulder, but Zuko rudely shoved it off and trudged to the front of the ship. I sighed slightly, but didn't say anything, leaving Zuko alone.

XxXx

"Kaida! What are you doing?" I glanced up at Iroh from my place on the deck. The rain was pounding on the metal, but I had always found rain calming. My hand was up, bending the water in an invisible umbrella, and I stretched it so that Iroh didn't get drenched.

"Just...sitting."

"Well, would you like to join me for a cup of tea?"

I smiled and stood, following Iroh back inside, "Sure."

We passed by an open door low in the belly of the ship, and I heard Jee's voice drifting out, "I'm sick of taking his orders and I'm tired of chasing his Avatar!"

Iroh tensed beside me, and I stopped to listen.

"I mean who does Zuko think he is?"

"Do you really want to know?" Iroh asked, walking slowly into the room, whilst I still followed.

Jee and three other men sat around a fire barrel, Jee and Torao stood in respect. Behind them was a sort of boiler, and they each sat on a wooden barrel.

"General Iroh! We were just-" Jee started before Iroh interrupted.

Iroh held up a hand in acceptance, "It's ok. May we join you?"

"Of course, sir!"

Iroh and I headed down the steps, Iroh taking a seat and Torao grabbing me a barrel from the side. I sat and smiled gratefully at him, before turning to listen to Iroh.

He stoked his beard before beginning, "Try to understand, my nephew is a complicated young man. He has been through much..."

In my mind I could see everything Iroh described.

_A younger Zuko walked down a hall, a determined expression on his face. He was without his scar and with a full head of hair, tied up in a top knot. He tried to enter a room cut off by curtains with the fire nation emblem, but two guards blocked his way._

"_Let me in!" he demanded, voice higher than the Zuko I knew._

_Iroh appeared at his side, putting his hands on the young prince's shoulders, "Prince Zuko, what's wrong?"_

"_I want to go into the war chamber, but the guard won't let me pass!" Zuko's voice broke slightly at the end, and he is clearly disappointed._

_Iroh led him a short distance away from the guards, "You're not missing anything, trust me. These meetings are dreadfully boring."_

"_If I'm gonna rule this nation one day, don't you think I need to start learning as much as I can?" he looked up hopefully._

"_Very well. But you must promise not to speak. These old folks are a bit sensitive, you know." Iroh said as a general walked past, behind him._

_Zuko bowed, "Thank you uncle!"_

_Iroh put his around Zuko's shoulders and walked him past the guards, who made no move to stop them. The room is a temple like chamber, with a throne on a dais, wreathed in fire. The back wall is occupied by some sort of huge, ornately carved red statue. Fire Nation generals sit around a map of the Earth Kingdom continent that adorns the floor._

_One of the generals on the left stood to address the general staff,"The Earth Kingdom defences are concentrated here." The Fire Lord sat watching the generals discuss the situation from his throne._

"_A dangerous battalion of their strongest earthbenders and fiercest warriors, so I am recommending the 41st division." the general continued._

"_But the 41st is entirely new recruits. How do you expect them to defeat a powerful Earth Kingdom battalion?" another general asked._

"_I don't. They'll be used as a distraction while we mount an attack from the rear. What better to use as bait then fresh meat?" the man replied coldly._

"_You can't sacrifice an entire division like that! Those soldiers love and defend our nation! How can you betray them?" Zuko protested, jumping up._

My thoughts were brought back to Iroh, as he said, "Zuko was right, you see, but it was not his place to speak out, and there were...dire consequences."

I winced slightly but listened as the story continued.

"After Zuko's outburst in the meeting, the Fire Lord became very angry with him. He said that Prince Zuko's challenge of the general was an act of complete disrespect, and there was only one way to resolve this..."

"Agni kai. A fire duel." Jee said.

"That's right. Zuko looked upon the old general he had insulted and declared that he was not afraid. But Zuko misunderstood. When he turned to face his opponent, he was surprised to see it was not the General. Zuko had spoken out against a general's plan, but by doing so in the Fire Lord's war room, it was the Fire Lord whom he had disrespected. Zuko would have to duel his own father."

_Zuko was kneeling in a rectangular arena, people watching from the sidelines. He stood up, dropping the ceremonial cloak to the floor, exposing his bare chest. He faced his opponent, and, recognizing him, froze in horror. _

"When Prince Zuko saw that it was his father who had come to duel him, he begged for mercy..."

_Zuko looked horrified , begging the advancing figure, "Please, father, I only had the fire nation's best interest at heart! I'm sorry I spoke out of turn!"_

"_You will fight for your honor." the Fire Lord said._

_The young Zuko knelt before his father, "I meant you no disrespect. I am your loyal son."_

"_Rise and fight, Prince Zuko!" Ozai stopped in front of him._

_Zuko looked at the floor, "I won't fight you."_

"_You will learn respect, and suffering will be your teacher."_

_The Fire Lord now stands a few feet from Zuko, as the Prince raised his tear filled face to his father. The spectators watched, many in the background generals from the war council. The three near the front were a grinning Admiral Zhao (then either Captain or Commander), General Iroh, looking fearful for his nephew, and a cruel looking young girl in a soldier's uniform who is clearly hoping for the worst to befall Prince Zuko, his own sister, Azula. She raised her left fist in anticipation of the disgrace her brother, whilst Iroh's looks away in despair. _

"I looked away."

I could hear Zuko's scream of pain in my head, I was sure Iroh could too. A small tear leaked from the corner of my eye, which I brushed away hastily, ignoring Torao's look of concern.

"I always thought that Prince Zuko was in a training accident." Jee said, abashed.

"It was no accident. After the duel, the Fire Lord said that by refusing to fight, Zuko had shown shameful weakness. As punishment he was banished and sent to capture the Avatar. Only then could he return with his honor." Iroh explained.

"So that's why he's so obsessed. Capturing the Avatar is the only chance he has of things returning to normal." Jee said.

"Things will never return to normal. But the important thing is, the Avatar gives Zuko hope."

I jumped in fright when lightning struck the ship, as did the other men. We all ran to the deck, and I skidded before catching my balance.

The rain was harder than before, and the waves tossed the ship around. The clouds were a dark grey, lightning flashing every few seconds.

Zuko joined us, shouting to be heard over the storm, "Where were we hit?"

"I don't know!" Jee shouted back.

"Look!" My eyes followed Iroh's finger, up to the bridge tower, where a crewman hung of some rigging.

"The helmsman!" Zuko started to run towards a ladder up to the bridge area, but paused to look back at me, "Get below deck!"

"No! I'm a waterbender, I can help!" I yelled, ignoring the part of me that wanted to run to safety.

He was about to protest, but was interrupted by the helmsman's yell, "Fine, but...be careful!"

I stood there, a little stunned, but was snapped out of it by a lightning strike nearby. I turned, and focussed on the waves.

Each wave was as tall as three double-decker buses stacked on top of each other, threatening to flip the ship at any moment. I pushed each wave away as it came, trying to keep my balance as the ship rocked. I was drenched to the skin, twisting and spinning in the rain as I tried to keep track of every wave.

The storm only got worse, and now I was stumbling every so often. Raising my arms I lifted a large wall of water to absorb a wave, then dropped it.

I turned and out of the corner of my eye I spotted Zuko, who had descended the ladder, watching me. Jee stood behind him with the helmsman that had been hanging from bridge, Jee's arm wrapped around his shoulder, supporting him.

Zuko's eyes widened as he yelled, "Look out!"

I turned just in time to see an enormous wave, bigger than the others, crashing down on me. Not having a hope in stopping it, I squeezed my eyes shut as it carried me off the deck, emitting a small scream.

The water was colder than the rain, and swirled around me as my mind spun from lack of oxygen. I desperately swam, hoping to find the surface, but the waves kept pushing me under. I accidently opened my mouth, inhaling a mouthful of water. I chocked as the water entered my lungs, and I felt myself losing consciousness.

Zuko POV

I dived into the ocean, ignoring the freezing water. The only thing I could think about was Kaida.

Swimming forward I used strong strokes to stop the waves from pulling me under. I was always proud of being a good swimmer when I was a child, happy to be better than Azula at something. Looks like it was finally paying off.

I ducked under the surface, hoping to get a glimpse of her. The water burned my eyes but I kept looking. I was just about to go back up for air when I saw a glint of green in the otherwise black see.

I thanked Agni that she was wearing her green training outfit and raced towards her. Her unusual but beautiful hair fanned around her head like a halo as she slowly sunk. Her eyes were shut, bubbles coming from her mouth, and my heart squeezed painfully.

_Why do _you _care so much? _Part of me asked, but I ignored it as I scooped her up in my arms and kicked to the surface, noticing she was unconscious. To be honest I didn't know why I cared, just two days ago I would have let her drown, but it felt like that was changing.

I gasped in a deep breath when I emerged, searching for the ship, which was just next to me. Someone cried my name and a rope was tossed down, which I wrapped tightly around myself and Kaida. The crew hauled us over the railing and I landed hard on the floor, Kaida still in my arms.

"Prince Zuko! Are you okay?" Uncle asked, crouching beside me. I just nodded and carefully lay Kaida out so she was on her back. The rain was still hammering down on the ship, but the waves had calmed.

"Is she all right?" A man I recognised was Torao asked, kneeling next to me.

"Does she look all right?" I snapped, before taking a breath to calm myself and leaned in close to Kaida, my cheek by her mouth. I sighed in relief when I felt the soft tickle of her breathing, and stood up, Kaida once again in my arms. She was drenched and her temperature continued to drop dangerously low, my own stayed at a comfortable level. I heated my arms up, hoping that she wouldn't catch pneumonia.

"Sir, look!" I followed the gave of one of the crewmen, to see a white, flying buffalo which stood out against almost black sky.

"The Avatar!"

"What do you want to do, sir?" Lieutenant Jee asked.

I was about to order them to go after the buffalo, but paused and looked down at Kaida. She was still unconscious, shivering in her sleep from the cold, her face paler than usual.

"Let him go. We need to get this ship to safety." _And look after Kaida._

" Then we must head directly into the eye of the storm." Uncle smiled and looked away from me, towards what I assumed was the centre.


	16. Chapter 16

**I am so sorry for the long weight (to my standards). I blame writers block, and having too many ideas for my other stories. It's kinda rushed at the end cuz I really wanted to post it. **

**Thank you for all the reviews!**

**Yay almost 5,000 hits!**

**Zuko will be a bit OOC in this chapter, but he has a soft spot for Kaida, and he (unknowingly) luuurves her lol.**

The Blue Spirit and The Ice Dragon

Kaida POV

_Water. Everywhere. I couldn't breathe. The waves crashed down on my body, tossing and turning it. I tried to scream, but my mouth filled with water and my mind and body panicked. Shadows twisted around me, and spots formed in front of my eyes._

_Suddenly I was falling through the air, my airways abruptly clear. My body enjoyed the freedom for a second before realizing I was falling to my death._

_I hit the floor, a dull _'Thud' _echoed through the open space surrounding me. But strangely, I didn't feel any pain. I slipped into a sitting position, searching for something, anything, but the room, if it was a room, was a black as when I had my eyes shut._

_I clutched my knees to my chest, terrified. Frightened sobs escaped my mouth; I was scared of the dark. _

_Warm arms wrapped around me from behind, and I tensed but soon relaxed. At least I wasn't completely alone. They turned me around gently, and I cried into their chest, arms around their shoulders._

"_Shh, it's okay. You're okay." the person whispered soothingly, and the sobs slowly dissolved. _

_I looked up, my vision returned slightly, and instantly tensed when I saw his face, "Zuko?"_

_He just looked kindly down at me, brushing the tears from my cheek with his thumb. I stared at him, frozen, "I got you. You're safe."_

My eyes shot open when I jolted awake. I blinked a few times, confused, my mind grasping at the edges of the dream that I was quickly forgetting.

I sat up, leaning against the back of the bed. At first I was confused, what was I doing in the infirmary?

It slowly came back to me; the storm, then being swept of deck. After that, I must have lost consciousness. But shouldn't I be dead?

I looked around the room and, seeing it was empty, lay down again, curling on my side. Usually Makoto would be in here, but I didn't even know what time it was, it could well be the middle of the night.

"Nmm...Kaida..." I jumped in fright and scanned the room again, trying to find the source of the noise.

I found it right beside my bed. Zuko was sitting in a chair, head against the wall, fast asleep. His chest rose and fell gradually, and I wondered how long he had been there, and why.

He seemed to be having a good dream, half smiling. _What's he so happy about?_

He mumbled again, but I couldn't hear what he said. He looked so peaceful asleep, not to mention cute...

What? He is NOT cute!

_Oh, stop lying to yourself!_

SHUT UP!

"Zuko?" I said softly, ignoring the annoying voice in my head. He shifted slightly, and his eyelids fluttered open.

I giggled when he shot up, an expression of bewilderment and confusion on his face.

"Wha- Oh." he realized he had fallen asleep.

"Uh, Zuko? First, why am I here, second, what happened, and third, why are you here?" I asked, more confused than he was.

"Oh, you were washed over board," I nodded, remembering, and intently watched him as he grew...nervous? "Then I, um, dived in and got you out, and you've been unconscious for a few hours at least. I'm not too sure why I'm here..."

I was silent for a few seconds, shocked, then asked, "Why did you save me?"

He rubbed the back of his neck, "I don't know..."

I was stunned as to why he did it, and couldn't help but feel grateful. This irritating, angsty teenager saved my life, and something like that can sure change your opinion on someone.

I leant forward towards him, smiling as he eyed me curiously. I kissed his cheek and leaned back again, "Thanks."

My lips tingled slightly and I grinned at his blush, "Y-your w-welcome." he stuttered, surprised to say the least. "So, how are you feeling?"

I was still a little taken aback that he was actually showing concern, but answered anyway, "I feel okay, just a bit dizzy. I'm gonna get some fresh air."

He nodded and I swung my legs over the side of the bed, ignoring the dizziness. I stood slowly and headed out the room, hoping to clear my head.

Zuko POV

I just sat there for a few minutes, my cheek tingling where she kissed it. I put my hand up and touched the area where her lips had been. I had been extremely surprised and I blushed just thinking about it. Why would she do that, unless...

I shook my head, trying to clear it of those strange thoughts, and made my way out of the room. I wasn't sure why I'd stayed when the healer said she would be all right last night, but I just didn't want to leave.

I entered my room and dug through the closet, finally finding the blue spirit mask I had been given by my mother back before she left. I slipped on my black clothes and left the ship, careful not to make a sound or let anyone hear me.

XxXx

Kaida POV

I stood on deck at the side of the ship, so if anyone came out or looked out the window wouldn't see me, as the sun began to rise. It gave me new energy, like it did all firebenders, but as the moon also disappeared from the sky I felt some of my waterbending power leave with it

I sighed a little, then lifted my arms, pulling water from the ocean. I played with it, just the feel of the water was comforting. The water twisted and moulded into a dragon which flew over me, about the size of a large dog.

I hadn't seen anyone on the show do anything like this, but it felt natural to me. It was a nice change from firebending.

I tried to make other animals, but the water would either just form a blob or return to the dragon shape.

I gave up and blew the hair out of my face.

"What you doing?" Zuko walked up beside me, and I guessed he had seen the water dragon.

"Just playing with the water."

"Playing?" Zuko's eyebrow rose.

"Yeah, playing. You know, bending isn't all about fighting."

Zuko crossed his arms skeptically, causing me to roll my eyes and turn away slightly.

"How did you get that cut?"

"Huh?" well that was unexpected. I realized he was looking at my side where the cut used to be, "Oh, an idiot called Jet threw a dagger at me."

"Why?" Zuko asked.

I shrugged, "He thought I was fire nation."

For a moment he looked angry, "Are you?"

I bit my lip, unsure about what to say, "No, didn't your Uncle tell you?"

"He said you weren't from around here."

"You got that right." I muttered under my breath.

"Oh." I watched him for a second, he seemed to be thinking about something.

_He doesn't seem so bad any more, _I thought, _usually he would be demanding I tell him._

"Uh, I'm gonna go check the co-ordinates." Zuko told me.

I shrugged, "'kay."

I listened to him walking away before returning to my bending, practising until my arms ached and I was panting in exhaustion.

The sun was a little higher now, so I headed to the bridge, where I guessed Iroh and Zuko would be.

As soon as I walked in I was caught in a hug. I staggered back a little from the weight, "Kaida! Are you okay!"

"Can't...breath!" Torao jumped back and I took in a deep breath before answering.

"I'm fine, just a bit dizzy."

He grinned down at me, "Good, glad you're okay."

I looked around the room to see Iroh playing Pai Sho with some crewmen, _of course, _and Zuko and Jee discussing something.

I smiled and leaned against the window, not noticing Zuko glaring at Torao, and tapped in on Zuko and Jee's conversation.

"We haven't been able to pick up the Avatar's trail since the storm." Jee said.

I glanced over Zuko's shoulder at the map he and Jee were looking at. It was a map of the world and

the position of the Lieutenant's hand and extended index finger indicated that we were currently at the northwest extremity of the Earth Kingdom, close to the eastern edge of the northern air nomad lands.

"But, if we continue heading northeast-"

Jee was cut off as the light as blocked out by an enormous shadow. I stared curiously at it, realizing it was a ship at least twice as big as Zuko's. The ship was heading in the opposite direction to us, and I guessed it was a Fire Navy ship.

"What do they want?" Zuko said.

"Perhaps a sporting game of Pai Sho!" Iroh said hopefully. I rolled my eyes.

I stayed in the corner of the room as three soldiers boarded. The leader, it seemed, unrolled a black and white picture of Aang with a description beside it that surprisingly I could understand.

"Wow, pretty good picture considering you don't have cameras." I muttered so only Torao, who was beside me, could hear.

He leaned towards me slightly and whispered, "What's a camera?"

"A little box that takes pictures."

Torao looked puzzled so I added, "Doesn't matter."

"The hunt for the Avatar has been given prime importance." he lowered the scroll, "All information regarding the Avatar must be reported directly to Admiral Zhao."

"Ugh, not Monkey Man _again_!" I groaned almost inaudibly.

"Zhao has been promoted? Well, good for him!" Iroh said.

"I've got nothing to report to Zhao. Now get off my ship and let us pass." Zuko said sullenly.

"Admiral Zhao is not allowing ships in or out of this area." the herald said.

"Off my ship!" Zuko practically yelled.

The soldiers walked away and I waltzed over to Zuko, "Anger management..." I said in a sing-song voice then ran out in case he decided to take his anger out on me.

XxXx

I racked my brain for what happened next in this episode, when it finally came to me. I hunted through my bag, finding near the bottom a pure black training suit that covered my entire body, similar to Zuko's. _Again, thank you Yue!_

I bit my lip, if I was going with him to get Aang, I would need a mask. I looked around the room until my eyes fell on a bowl full of water, and a smirk came to my face.

I bended the water out and froze it, before tying it on my face with some blue ribbon. The mask hid my face from view, and was shaped like the face of a dragon, fangs baring from the snarling mouth.

It was a light blue in colour, almost white, and looking in the mirror I didn't recognise myself.

Satisfied I strapped my swords to my back. Iroh had given them back to me when he saw me admiring Torao's, and when I asked why he said that he trusted that I wouldn't hurt him or any of the crew with them. He was right, and it felt good to have them back again. I also grabbed my water skin and tied it around my waist, checking it was full. My daggers were under the wraps on my arms, ready if I needed them.

I strained my ears and waited until I heard the soft but distinct creak of Zuko's metal door opening. I peeked out my own door to see him running silently down the corridor, already in his Blue Spirit mask.

I managed to get onto his small scout ship just as it pulled out without being detected, and hid behind some crates.

I crept after him when the boat docked, into the woods. I kept a fair amount of distance between us so that if he looked back I had time to get out of his line of vision, but he seemed too absorbed in rescuing Aang to notice me.

I'd been running for at least half an hour, and I was starting to pant. Deciding to take a quick break I sat down by a tree and leant against it. The mask was still frozen, and it helped me cool down.

After five minutes I stood again and began to walk forward, hoping to see Zuko in the distance. When I couldn't find him I panicked slightly, how would I get to Aang?

I held in a scream when two broadswords crossed under my neck, then swiftly elbowed the person and ducked away when they lifted the swords slightly.

I span around and grabbed my own broadswords, but lowered them when I saw it was just Zuko, "Jeez, Zuko. You scared me."

Zuko lowered his swords too, "Kaida?"

"No, the pink panther." I rolled my eyes.

"Why are you here?"

"The same reason you are; to save Aang, or 'the avatar'." I sheathed my swords.

"What! Get back to the ship. Now!" he ordered.

"Look, Aang is my friend, and I want to help save him, even if you're only doing it so you can capture him. To be honest, I'd rather he be captured by you, oh cranky prince, than that bastard." I said.

Zuko considered it for a few seconds before nodding slowly, "Fine, but of you promise me one thing; you won't try to escape."

I put my right hand up, "I promise."

"Good." We walked in silence until we reached a road that led directly into the fortress. I hid in a bush beside Zuko and waited.

A few minutes later a cart came by dragged by a Kimono-Rhino, "When I say 'now', roll onto the road and hold on under the cart. Got it?"

I nodded and got into a crouch, ready. When the cart was directly in front of us Zuko whispered, "Now!"

I sprang from my crouch and rolled under the cart, getting a tight hold on two of the three wooden planks with my hands and feet. Zuko was next to me, and I tensed when his arm brushed against mine, but he moved away quickly.

The ride didn't last too long thankfully, as my fingers and feet were beginning to ache from holding on.

The cart jolted to a stop just outside the fort and I stopped breathing when I saw a pair of boots walking around the cart.

"All clear." the soldier said, before stopping just behind us. Guessing what the soldier was about to do, I followed Zuko as he swung from underneath and into the wagon itself, then hid behind some wooden boxes.

I sighed in relief when the guard, again, announced it was clear and let the cart inside the fort. There were three walls before the main tower were Aang was held, and once we were inside the second wall the wagon stopped.

"Follow me." Zuko and I ran towards the last wall, where there was a doorway which led to a staircase. None of the guards noticed us and we didn't meet any on the way up.

"These guys reeeaaally need better security." Zuko shushed me and I glared at him, but he just pointed to two guards near us watching Zhao give his speech from a balcony on the main tower. We slipped past the guards and continued down the wall, sticking to the shadows.

I could hear the soldiers cheering to Zhao's words, but shut it out and concentrated on the task of freeing Aang.

Zuko tied a rope to the side of the wall and climbed down rapidly, whilst I followed a little nervously because of the height. We ran across the empty courtyard and jumped down into the sewers. My nose wrinkled at the smell but I didn't say anything, instead bending the mask slightly so I couldn't smell anything.

I slipped through the bars after Zuko, being a little thinner than he was. Again there were no guards on the way up, and I figured they were all either outside or guarding Aang.

We ran down another corridor, and I was only just able to keep up with Zuko. He stopped suddenly, and I had a chance to catch my breath, "Please don't tell me we're lost."

"Shh!"

I literally growled at him; that was the _second _time he shushed me! "Will you-" I stopped talking when I saw a soldier at the end of the corridor we were on, who had just spotted us.

I bended some water from the skin and froze it across the man's mouth so he couldn't alert the other guards. Then I punched him in the back of his neck, just below the helmet, so he fell to the floor unconscious.

I was confused when Zuko removed the man's helmet and rolled it down a corridor to our left, but it clicked and I jumped up, holding onto a chain on the ceiling to help me balance.

Zuko did the same and when the guard rounded the corner he used another chain to tie the man to the ceiling, whilst I gagged the soldier with some more ice.

The man let out a burst of fire before he was incapacitated, attracting two more guards. Zuko took care of them the same way, this time landing on the floor.

I turned the corner just as the last guard was about to blow on the alarm horn. Swiftly I threw one of my daggers at him, pinning the horn to the wall. He took up a bending stance as Zuko ran at him, shooting a jet of fire. I couldn't stop myself from laughing when Zuko tipped a bucket of water on him, drowning the fire, then knocked the feet out from under him with it.

The man landed hard, and I bended the water around his mouth and body, freezing him to the ground.

Zuko fiddled for a second with the lock before it opened, and he went into the room, me close behind. A smile spread across my face, though it was hidden by the mask, when I saw Aang. I hadn't realized quite how much I had missed him.

Aang was chained between two large pillars by his wrists and ankles so he couldn't bend, and looked pretty scared to see us. He screamed when Zuko ran at him, twirling his swords to build up momentum, probably thinking Zuko was here to kill him.

He looked shocked when Zuko instead freed him from the chains, then walked back to me.

"Was that really necessary?" I scolded, smirking a little.

Zuko ignored me and kept walking to the door as Aang asked, "Who are you? What's going on? Are you here to rescue me?" Zuko opened the door and motioned for us to follow, "I'll take that as a yes."

I noticed Aang glancing at the guard still frozen to the floor and could see him mouthing the word 'waterbender'.

"Are you a waterbender?" Aang asked, but I ignored him and walked beside Zuko. I had already promised Zuko I wouldn't try to escape, and I always kept my word. If Aang knew who I was he'd try to help me escape.

I looked back at him when Aang exclaimed, "My frogs! Come back! And stop thawing out!" Zuko grabbed his collar and started dragging him, "Wait! My friends need to suck on those frogs!"

_Oh yeah. _I remembered that Katara ans Sokka were ill from that storm, and had to smother a laugh when I recalled Sokka's current state of mind.

We managed to sneak back down to the sewers with out being seen, but soldiers were everywhere above our heads. Zuko peered out of the grate, checking if the coast was clear, then climbed out. Aang hopped out after him and ran across the courtyard towards the rope we'd used earlier.

Aang went up first with me and Zuko after him, but when Aang was half way up an alarm rang out.

"There, on the wall!" A soldier below us yelled.

We fell down the wall as a guard cut the rope, Aang screaming but creating an air blast to soften the fall. I landed in a crouch and unsheathed my swords, getting ready to fight.

We ran towards the first gate, with Aang at the front, when it started to close. A group of soldiers blocked it who Aang took care of with a quick air blast.

We continued running for the gate but several soldiers attacked me and I had to stop. Most were using spears which were pretty easy to just slice the sharp ends off, but every time I took down one, two or three more would appear.

I heard the three doors slam shut, trapping us inside. I fought back to back with Zuko as the soldiers surrounded us, occasionally using bending to freeze their feet to the ground.

_There's just too many! _I thought, we were outnumbered by over twenty one. Thankfully Aang air blasted them away, then catapulted both of us on top of the wall.

I rolled into a crouch next to Zuko, and stood up, my swords on my back. We were almost instantly surrounded. Aang appeared behind Zuko, using a broken spear like a helicopter, then lifted him up off the wall. I gasped when Zuko grabbed my hand, lifting me with him.

I reached for a sword with my spare hand and used it to knock away any spears thrown our way, but Aang was visibly struggling to keep us up.

"Zuko!" I whispered, so Aang wouldn't hear, "You have to drop me! Otherwise you and Aang have no chance!"

"No!" he growled furiously.

I looked at him questionably, but the mask hid all of his emotions. "Please! You need to save Aang and yourself." I pleaded.

"No, I am NOT letting you fall!"

Before I could reply we crash landed on the second wall, barely making it. I landed hard, twisting my ankle in the process.

I hissed but tried to stand, favouring that leg. Two guards climbed up a trap door, and I knocked one off the wall whilst Aang and Zuko took care of the other.

Aang blasted the last two, but more soldiers begun to climb the wall using ladders. We each took a ladder and knocked the men off, Zuko and I using our swords and Aang using airbending. When all the soldiers were gone, Aang ran past me carrying two ladders.

"Here, take this." Aang handed Zuko a ladder, then looked back at me, "Uhh..."

I motioned for him to go, there was no way the ladder could hold up all three of us. When Zuko wouldn't move I pushed him forwards, whispering, "I'll find a way, just get Aang out of here."

He nodded slightly and turned back to Aang, then jumped on his back as Aang used the ladders like giant stilts.

I span around as a spear swung at my head, just dodging it. At least twenty soldiers were charging towards me, and I did they only thing I could think of. I jumped.

I screamed as my boy cut through the air, straight for the ground. Twisting so that the soles of my feet were facing the wall I shot streams of fire from my fists and feet. To my relief it propelled me forwards, but I did not anticipate the speed.

I literally flew over the soldiers heads, squeaking every time a spear came close to me, just avoiding them. Ahead of me was the last wall, and I could see Aang and Zuko land on the floor, and the burst of flame four firebenders send at them disperse.

Squeezing my eyes shut I extinguished the flames and somehow managed to land on my feet behind Zuko, stumbling slightly.

Surprisingly, Zuko let me lean against him for a second as I tried to recover my strength, panting heavily. I groaned when Zhao walked closer to us.

"The Avatar must be captured alive!" Zuko sprang forwards when Zhao said this, crossing his swords under Aang's neck.

Everyone froze before Zhao ordered through gritted teeth, "Open the gate."

"Admiral, what are you doing?" An officer asked.

"Let them out, now!"

The gate opened behind us and I cautiously backed away beside Zuko and Aang, keeping my swords out. We had just reached a sort of crossroad when I began to let my guard down, not anticipating what would happen next.

I barely saw the arrow as it whizzed through the air and struck Zuko's mask, knocking him to the ground, unconscious. A second flew towards me, but thanks to my training on Kioshi Island I was just able to dodge it, bending backwards to get out of the way.

I knelt down beside Zuko as Aang raised a dust cloud to give us cover, noticing his mask had come undone. I felt genially worried for him.

I held my breath as Aang removed the mask and jumped back when he saw it was Zuko's face underneath. I looked at Aang pleadingly, waiting for him to make the decision to help us or not.

I smiled under my mask when Aang hauled Zuko over his shoulders and grabbed my hand, dashing away from the oncoming soldiers using his bending.


End file.
